


Sataareth Kadan Hass-toh Issala Ebasit

by Synlover753



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition, Pathfinder (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, BDSM, Casual Sex, Claustrophillia, F/M, Fade Sex, Fluff, Graphic Description, Hurt/Comfort, Modern Girl in Thedas, Multi, My First AO3 Post, My First Fanfic, My First Work in This Fandom, Not Beta Read, Original Character(s), Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Soul Bond, Strip Chess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-11-08 20:07:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 93,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11088984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Synlover753/pseuds/Synlover753
Summary: It is my purpose to do what I must for those I consider important.Dragon Age: Inquisition is a great game. That's just it, it's just a game, right? Nikki soon finds out that there is more to Dragon Age: Inquisition than anyone ever thought when she gets taken away to Thedas where she meets with a person that she never expected to see with her own physical eyes.NSFW Chapters:Ch. 8 Bull X OC (8, 9, 18, 21, )Ch. 9 Cullen X OCCh. 17 Dalish X OCCh. 22 Cassandra X OCCh. 23 Mythal X Fen'Harel





	1. Prologue / Chapter 1?

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfiction has been written after years of reading many fanfictions, I'm sure that there are bits and pieces here that remind readers of other fanfictions. I am not listing all of my inspirations for this work seeing as I don't remember them all. If there are any inconsistencies with the lore, there may be a reason for it or I may not have known about that particular piece of lore. I welcome comments and helpful tips from any source.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is also a lot of in game dialogue and follows the game pretty closely why fucking with the order a bit.

“Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Not necessarily in that order” Tim Burton

A small statured woman sat on a grey couch, letting her auburn hair fall into her face before glaring at the offending locks. She rips the hair tie off her wrist and pulls her hair into a quick bun. Getting up to pace, a caramel colored canine watched her from his place on the couch, she went from the living room to the kitchen and back before grabbing a controller off a nearby table. 

Sitting down next to the canine, she uses a different remote to turn on the tv and pulls up Youtube on her xbox. She fights to keep her eyes from wandering to the empty space next to her tv where there used to be another tv and xbox. Playing the first video she sees in her suggested playlist she sets the controller back down on the table before getting up again and turning to look at the canine on the couch.

“Fuck,” she draws out the sound of the word and gains a modicum of satisfaction at the sound of the word, “no job, no boyfriend, no family around to turn to, all I’ve got is you Dal.” He makes a kind of ‘harumph’ sound in response.

“I know buddy, we’re fucked,” she winces as a thought crosses her mind, “I just can’t believe I didn’t see it, he was the worst kind of asshole and I never saw it. Did I work too much? What did I do wrong here?” A voice flows through her mind, 'Nicole Nikita Nicholson, you deserve so much better than him. If you ever think that this situation is at all your fault you know I’ll call in the next couple days and chew your ass out for thinking like that!' She sometimes wondered if she was crazy for hearing the personified voices of her friends and family in her head, but she shrugged it off, it helped her get a new perspective. 

“Okay, so things not my fault are as follows: I got fired from my job because of budget cuts, not due to my performance, but because the people with more seniority were protected by their union better than I was,” Nikki listed off things that weren’t her fault like how her boyfriend of two years had fucked every girl at the bar last night while she worked overtime on the day she got fired. She realized it was her fault only for moving away from her family, when everything inside her told her not to move out here. 

Nikki sat down next to Dal and he flopped his head onto her lap, exhaling forcefully from his nose. She leaned back into the couch and absently pet him and turned her attention to the tv. 

“What’s wrong with Sparkler? Not colorful enough for you,” a gruff voice spoke from the tv.

“You must know me better now, or does the moniker you gave me five minutes after we met still apply,” a silky voice sneered back.

“I have the eyes of a storyteller, it’s a gift.”

“So, I’m a bit of light you stick in the window sill to impress passersby. All flash, no heat. Hmm, that’s actually pretty clever,” Dorian sounded impressed at how well Varric thought his nicknames through. 

Nikki stopped paying attention to the party banter for a moment and eyed her ceiling as she felt her tiredness begin catching up to her. She didn’t want to sleep in the giant king sized bed all alone, preferring to be surrounded by DnD books with the xbox on. Walking to the kitchen she opens her freezer and grabs a pint of chocolate ice cream that she usually saved for shark week.

Walking back into her living room she eyes the character sheets that are strewn all around the table in the middle of the room. She admires her drawing of her character, Garrick, the half-dragon Girallon, blessed by Calistria to have average intelligence at the least otherwise he would have been like the dwarf from the first Dragon Age. “Enchantment?” She almost smiles as she remembers the humorous dwarf and suddenly Cole is talking with Bull in the Video and she can’t help it when her attention is riveted to the tv, listening to the deep tumble of Bull’s voice. She’s always been drawn to the character that is The Iron Bull. His thoughts and philosophies made sense to her and she found comfort in just the sound of his voice, despite it being Freddy Prinze Jr. doing the voice, it’s sexy as fuck. She ends up falling asleep curled with Dal on the couch listening to The Iron Bull playing verbal chess with Solas. 

Nikki is curled around Dal, both looking as if they were hugging each other. Her silver eyes are closed in slumber, snores are heard from both human and canine. As both slumber peacefully a green glow begins to permeate the room. A wolf, green and translucent, and as tall as the door walks into the room and looks at the woman curled around her dog. The wolf turns his head to the side and considers the woman for a moment before quietly sneaking up to her and opening his jowls before clamping his mouth around the woman and her dog. 

The woman opens her eyes immediately and sees that she and Dal are floating above a green world, the sky is green and sickly. A translucent blue humanoid figure floats in front of her, “Renan, we need you, we fear for our existence and we need your help, our will is taking you to where you need to go.” His jaw is set in a determined look, but his face is creepily featureless, kind of like slenderman. She looks down and sees a transparent green hand coming out of her chest with the fingers gripping her torso. The shock of seeing a hand coming out of her chest causes her to pass out.


	2. Chapter 2

Nikki next awakens to a deep cold that seeps into her core and smells molding straw. She looks around and notices she is behind wrought iron bars with nothing to cover her upper torso except for a breast band. Looking down she notices black tribal swirls all over her skin, exactly where the hand had gripped her torso through her chest. They look like a tattoo except they were set deeper into her skin than her other tattoos were.

So intent on the new markings on her skin she didn’t notice the door opening and the soldier running up the stairs out of the dungeon. After a few minutes of examining her torso she finds a rough spun shirt nearby and thankfully puts it on to keep out the cold. The tunic isn’t enough and she looks around outside her cell for a distraction and her breath catches in her throat. There, in the middle of the floor, outside any individual cell, was a burly unconscious man with an eerie green light coming from his left hand. As if activated by her attention, the man’s hand glows a second before her entire upper body erupts in pain. Falling to her knees, Nikki gasps and holds her arms to her chest, she doesn’t notice that the man is groaning in pain even in his unconscious state. 

Footsteps are heard coming down the stairs as she comes out of her pain induced prayer stance. Nikki looks up to see who is coming down the stairs and freezes, this time not because of any eerily familiar green glow, but because of who she sees coming down the stairs. It’s a face that she knows well, she has cried and laughed with the previously fictional face on more than one occasion and now she is faced with the very real face of Cassandra Allegra Portia Calogera Filomena Pentaghast. 

Nikki’s brain freezes as it tries to process what it knows versus what it is seeing, Nikki knows that Cassandra is a fictional character in a video game. Nikki sees Cassandra right in front of her, her scars are not make-up, they are her scars borne of battles that had hardened Cassandra into the woman before her. The cold and damp of the chantry dungeon is real as Nikki swallows nervously and waits for Cassandra to speak to her. 

“Who are you?” Cassandra asks sternly. 

“Nikki,” she pauses as she comes to the decision to not play dumb in front of Cassandra, remembering how well it ended up for the Herald, being nearly killed by trial does not appeal to Nikki. 

“What happened? Everyone at the conclave is dead, except you.” Nikki glances at the unconscious man enviously since he is unconscious and does not currently have to deal with the force of nature that is Cassandra. “Explain your markings, now!” 

Cassandra is angrier by the minute and if she had been anyone else or had expected anything else, Nikki would be curled in a ball of a panic attack, as it was Nikki held onto her calm and explained, “All I know is that last night was the culmination of a really shitty week, lost my job, my family and my boy- my fiance. All I have left is my dog.” 

At Nikki’s words, Cassandra’s face becomes suspicious and asks, “what does your dog look like?” 

“He’s brown with a white underbelly and white paws with the brown coming down his front legs, but not reaching his paws. Please, I-I don’t have anything else I don’t have any ulterior motives, I just want my dog,” Nikki pleads to her captor as Cassandra looks thoughtful and pulls a ring of keys from her belt. 

“Stand back with your hands in front of you.” Cassandra orders her and Nikki takes comfort in that familiarity. Follow orders, easy enough, I can do that. She does as she’s told as Cassandra opens her cell and takes a length of rope from a nearby hook. Deftly, Cassandra ties Nikki’s hands together palms facing each other and Nikki is led out the door of the dungeon and up the stairs to the Chantry main. 

As they walk Cassandra talks, “You were found in the rubble of the Temple of Sacred Ashes. No one else survived the blast that destroyed it except for you and him. The ones who found you say there was a woman in the rift behind him and that a giant spectre wolf laid you on the ground next to him.” 

They leave the relative darkness of the Chantry and Nikki is accosted with the bright green light coming from the Breach, a giant hole in the sky with a green spire coing from it. Before she can crumble under the sheer weight of seeing the Breach in person rather than on a TV screen, an angry and familiar bark fills the air followed by shouting and cursing. 

“Dal!” Nikki forgets everything, Cassandra, the Breach, even the fact that her hands are tied in front of her as she runs ahead of Cassandra towards the angry barking. Nikki nears where the barking is coming from and sees soldiers attempting to hold back a caramel colored mabari. Nikki freezes and stares at him, the canine stills and stares at her. Still a ways off, Nikki looks into his eyes and feels that it is in fact her dog, he just gained about a hundred pounds of muscle and is ears were no longer the long floppy things they had been. Great, well at least he’ll be a bit more protected here, at least Haven is in Ferelden. She starts running and Dal redoubles his effort to get away from the soldiers. However, before she can reach him a strong masculine arm wraps around her waist and picks her up easily. 

“Woah miss, where are you going in such a hurry?” 

Nikki struggles against the man holding her without looking at him, she only has eyes for Dal. She sees a soldier approach Dal with a drawn sword and Nikki begins to fight tears. No, please God, Maker, Andraste, whatever deity may be listening, let Dal live please! She can no longer hold back the tears she was fighting. “No!” she sobs into masculine arms, he looks at a loss at what to do about the woman sobbing in his arms until he follows her line of sight and sees the soldiers struggling with the mabari. 

“Hold Soldiers, it seems as if that Mabari has a master already, release him.” the soldiers pause, but they all know better than to question an order from their commander and welcoming the excuse to not have to put down a Marbari. After he speaks, Nikki looks up at who is holding her and suddenly she’s hyperventilating for an entirely different reason. I’m being held by Cullen Rutherford. Cullen mother-fucking Rutherford!! Before she can speak a word a hyperactive caramel-colored Mabari bounds towards them and bowls them over. He protectively stands above Nikki and licks her face in excitement.

“Oh my god, Dal! As happy as I am to see you not hurt, I kind of need to breathe at some point.” Nikki awkwardly shoves Dal off of her and Dal worms his way between her arms despite them being bound. He rests his head on her shoulder and they hug for a while longer until she hears Dal start to growl. She turns to look and sees Cassandra approaching, her approach becoming more cautious after hearing Dal growl. Nikki untangles herself from Dal and rises to her feet to at least to thank Cullen for saving Dal. She looks up into his face to see him smiling at Dal,Cullen always did want a Mabari, maybe i’ll have Dal look after him if they decide to kill the woman with strange markings from another world. 

“Is his name Dal?” Cullen asks as he squats in front of Dal.

“His name is actually Taldaram, I was watching my nephews shortly after I got him and they couldn’t say Taldaram and every time they said ‘Tal’ it always came out Dal. So that’s what he became.” Nikki smiles fondly remembering her adorable twin nephews. 

Suddenly, out of nowhere she’s struck by a thought. She was never going to see her family again. Liem, Connor, Nate, Natalie, Mom, Dad. She wondered if she would be pronounced dead back home. The nature of these thoughts kept swirling around in Nikki’s mind as her eyes sting with unfallen tears. Seeing that her prisoner suddenly came under intentional distress, Cassandra wraps her arms gently around the young woman’s shoulders and begins to lead her back to the Chantry. Dal follows behind the woman as Cassandra leads Nikki back to the Chantry. Down the stairs into the cold, dark dungeon, Nikki finds it comforting except for the cold. It’s cold enough up in the mountains with snow covering Haven, why does the dungeon have to be even colder than that. They make it down the stairs and Cassandra leads her over to the cell she had previously been in. 

“Back into my cell I go huh?” Nikki asks despondently.

“It is a temporary measure for both yours and his safety.” Cassandra explains as if that is the only reason for Nikki to be kept in the Chantry’s dungeon. 

“Also so I don’t take off in the night with your other prisoner, seeing as how we are your only way to find out what happened at the Conclave, I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help.” Cassandra nods her head in respect that the young woman had figured out her motives so easily. She motions for Nikki to enter her cell and as she does, Nikki turns to speak with Cassandra again. 

“I swear I had nothing to do with the events that led to the Divine’s death, he’s innocent too if you’re wondering.” Nikki nods her head toward the unconscious man and she notices white dreads that seem more familiar than they should. The best way she could help with the knowledge that she has would be to play the part of a seer, she would deal with fallout from this later.

“How would you know this for certain?” Cassandra unbinds Nikki’s hands and stares into Nikki’s eyes as if trying to read her mind.

“And how can I convince you to believe me? Well I- I can see things, things I would have no way of knowing.” Nikki says meekly, refusing to look at Cassandra in the face, “I’ve seen that you are a good woman with a kind heart and even if we are down here because we are your only viable suspects, you still took our safety into account. Could you also take our comfort into account? I’m not asking for free reign to wander, but if I could not be locked inside a cell….” 

Nikki trailed off, looking at Cassandra hopefully. Cassandra regarded Nikki with a critical eye and before she has a chance to speak, Nikki begins talking again, more babbling than talking, “Well I'm just thinking that since there are so many guards down here since I'm sure you're too busy to be down here all the time to watch us, but what if you left the door open to my cell. Then left guards both in the main dungeon area and outside the dungeon door leading up the stairs.” 

Cassandra’s eye twitched in annoyance as Nikki continued to babble, she had noticed that her prisoner was prone to distraction, especially when she knew someone was in charge and looking after her. When Nikki’s babbling arguments began to circle around and contradict themselves, Cassandra could no longer hold back her frustration at her prisoner. Upon hearing Cassandra growl under her breath, Nikki blushed and ducked her head in embarrassment. 

“I guess I got ahead of myself, huh?” 

Nikki’s hand moved to Dal’s head out of habit and the dog leaned his body closer to his master’s thigh with such force that one would think that such a small woman would be knocked over, but she didn’t even flinch at his force. 

Nikki looked down at Dal and Cassandra was suddenly struck with an image she had seen in her youth. The first thing she had seen in a Ferelden Chantry was a stained glass depiction of Andraste and her Mabari. The image seemed to overlap with what she was currently seeing, Cassandra blinked and shook the image away, the similarity disturbing her. 

“There will be two guards outside the dungeon and two guards in here until our other guest wakes, you should know an apostate has offered his help with his hand,” Cassandra gestured at the unconscious man in the middle of the room, “you should allow him to look at your markings as well, he’s well versed in these matters.” 

Nikki knew she referred to a certain bald egg, she forced herself to take multiple slow deep breaths, “yeah, maybe he can tell me more about them.” 

Cassandra turned to leave but stopped when Nikki called out to her, “Is there any way that I could have some parchment and a writing utensil, charcoal would even work.”

Despite her own paranoia, Cassandra couldn’t help but feel sorry for the young woman that had apparently been abandoned by her fiancé before waking up somewhere new with only a Mabari pup for company and companionship. Surprising even herself, Cassandra nods her consent at Nikki receiving writing utensils and leaves the door of Nikki’s cell open. 

As soon as Cassandra is out of sight, Nikki moves to the unconscious man with snow white dreads. She lift his head up so she can look into his face and her eyes widen in disbelief, she is struck by the surrealness of her situation.

She was staring into a face she had only seen in her imagination and she guessed she shouldn’t be surprised that he looked exactly like she imagined him. Strong finely chiseled muscles lay lax at his side as her hand slowly, shakingly, raises one eyelid. As soon as she sees the color of his eye, her hand falls away in shock. Great, not only was she on the ass end of Thedas about to be tits deep in demons, but Garrick the half-dragon Barbarian from the Mwangii Expanse is here in Thedas with the fucking mark from Fen-fucking-harel. Well, at least he’ll be used to being in the middle of shit going to shit. She just hoped his anger wouldn't get the better of him here.

Nikki bolted back into her cell and hid in the far corner, shaking her head as she tried to fight back the panic that was welling within her. Cassandra came back to find Nikki with her back against the wall of the cell as far away from everything as she could get. Looking at her conscious prisoner, Cassandra noted that rather than fear, as she expected, Nikki’s face held expressions of worry and frustration, but no fear. 

The warrior filed away the information for later as she led the apostate following her into the dungeon. The second that Nikki noticed Cassandra, her face lightened into a smile, however when she saw the person behind the Seeker, Nikki had to fight to keep any dread or apprehension from showing on her face. In an attempt at neutrality, Nikki molded her face as expressionless as she could possibly make it. 

“Greetings, my name is Solas, I wish to study the marks on both his hand and your body.” The bald elf said as meekly as he could manage. Nikki surprised herself at her own self control as she held back a scoff at Solas’ meekness. 

“My name is Nikki, and it seems as if I'm stuck with whatever everyone else decides,” she couldn’t help the bitterness in her voice as Solas approached Garrick with a sour look. The tension in the room became uncomfortable for even Cassandra as the warrior tried not to fidget in awkwardness, scoffing in disgust at herself, she pulled paper and all manner of writing utensils out of a bag at her side. Everything from Charcoal ink and quill, Nikki eyed the writing utensils hungrily, noting that none of the items given could have been used in an offensive capacity as Cassandra lays the materials outside her cell. Before actually leaving the dungeon, Cassandra stopped and spoke quietly with the guard and nods at the end and makes her way up the steps and out of sight as Nikki watched her leave. 

Left alone in the dungeon with Solas, Nikki is filled with dread at being so close to the Dread Wolf. She laughs a moment at her own thought process and tries to turn it into a cough as Solas looks back at her curiously. He noted her discomfort of him and sneered at her, thinking that she was uncomfortable at being so close to a ‘knife-ear’. Solas ignores her and goes back to gently prodding his magic at the mark the unconscious man wore. His mark. The mark that would kill any who bore it save himself. Her voice cut through the silence and jolted him to her presence.

“I’m not nervous to be around an elf,” she speaks so quietly and gently, don’t want him to think I'm racist, that he is shocked by her gentle tone as compared to her bitterness a moment before. He glances back at her and sees that she is watching him carefully. He decides that he would let her begin their interactions and waits for her to speak again. 

“It’s just that i’m-” she stops talking as if she can’t find the right words to say, “I know that you’re here to help them with the Breach.” she decides to go for the As-Honest-as-I-can-get approach and she shakingly stands and walks over to Garrick. Solas kept his face neutral as Nikki walked over the Mabari guarding her cell and she walks over, “Ir abelas, Solas. If I made you uncomfortable with my apprehension at a stranger’s face.”

Solas could understand such upheaval, from what he had heard was that all she had in this world was the mabari at her cell door and she had almost lost him as well. “No, I am sorry, I thought you had seen the ears and made a snap judgement that you would be just like the rest of the humans I have met in my travels.”

“But Cassandra is letting you help, surely not all humans have made snap judgements about you, Hahren.” 

He looks at her with a critical eye and notices that her skin and teeth seemed healthier than that of the average human. She is more filled out than the average peasant and he would have pegged her for nobility if it didn’t belly with what he had heard and seen of her actions. 

Solas is mesmerized as she walks slowly over next to him and smiles at him reassuringly. Against his better judgment, he begins to relax his taut muscles, she smiles as he relaxes and she begins to place her fingers at the inside of the unconscious man’s wrist and begins to count under her breath. Solas is startled even further by her actions as he realizes that she is measuring his pulse, something he had not seen since his youth. 

“Before these events happened, I was an apprentice learning to heal,” she winced at her words, as if she were choosing words that he would understand, Solas noticed this and looked down at the mark to hide his expression from her. His eyes had always been too expressive for his tastes, especially after he had awoken, “I may not have completed my training, but I could still help.” Plus I may be able to add some insight as to how to care for an unconscious half-dragon. 

Suddenly, Garrick’s labored breathing became ten times more prominent and Nikki’s eyes widen in panic, “He’s too cold,” she mutters under her breath before she turns to Solas. 

“Solas, you just met me and have no reason to listen to anything I say, but you have to trust me. I know that mark is killing him and he’s trying to fight it, but he simply doesn’t have enough energy right now for reasons I don’t know. He needs to be warmed up,” Nikki took a breath to steady herself, “He needs to be warmer than we can make him naturally, he needs fire.” 

She stared at Solas, trying to convey her sincerity. Solas regarded her for a moment before agreeing, hoping to use the opportunity to learn how she knew the things she knew. At his nod, she immediately looked around and noticed a large unlit brazier that she walked over to without any hesitation and began to drag it closer to the unconscious man in the middle of the floor. 

“Would it not be easier to lift him to the brazier?”

“When we try to lift him onto this, you’ll see why I didn’t want to carry him that far with just the two of us.” 

Solas quirks an eyebrow at her in question, but leaves it be as she finally got the brazier into position. He squats down beside the man and positions his hands under the man’s armpit as Nikki does the same on the man’s other side. Grunting with effort, Solas suddenly understands what Nikki meant, the man is deceptively dense, Solas wouldn’t be surprised if the man had trouble swimming with how dense he felt. With a final grunt they heaved him to lay across the unlit brazier and Nikki gathers as much straw as she can hold and positions it around the unconscious man. 

“The hotter we make his center, the better,” Nikki mutters to herself and when she is satisfied with the amount of straw around his center. When she is finished, she steps back and nods to Solas. She feels as Solas extends his energy towards the brazier and the man inside, Nikki hears Solas mutter unintelligibly in elven under his breath and fire eagerly begins to lick at Garrick. 

Solas watches in fascination as the flames lick up the straw and the man’s clothes, but as he watches, he notices that the fire licks at the man’s skin, but does not consume it as it normally would. He looks to the strange woman with something akin to wonder as she moves and places her fingers on the man’s inner wrist again and counts under her breath. A moment later she moves away with a relieved expression, she mutters to herself again as if running through a checklist, “pulse is stronger, respiration is evening out, no longer at normal temperature for normal people.”

Filing away the information for later, Solas continues to watch her as she circles the man. “Don’t know how long to keep him on the fire for though.” She pauses to consider her thoughts and shrugs, “oh well, he can stay there till he wakes up, fire’s not gonna hurt him anyway.” 

Nikki walked her way over to Solas and, in his shock at her knowledge, he grasped her arm. Her eyes widened at the sudden contact and instinctively moved away from him, however his hand held firm. From her actions, her tunic jostled just enough that Solas was able to see her markings and he sees them begin to glow.

Solas moved to let go of Nikki, but he was too late and he felt a shock run up his arm before he was flung across the room. Luckily he didn’t hit anything when he landed and maintained his consciousness, however the force of her magic left him breathless. He takes a moment to regain his breath as Nikki leaps over her Mabari protector and curls in on herself in the far corner of her cell.

Solas raises himself up and sets himself to rights and slowly, cautiously, as if approaching a skittish halla. The moment he reaches her cell a earth-rumbling shock travels through and both she and the unconscious man groan in uncomfortableness and as the man’s marked hand sparks out, Nikki’s marks glow again and Solas can see unshed tears of pain welling in her eyes. He remains on the outside of her cell and speaks softly to her.

“Ir abelas, da’len. It was not my intent to startle you. I was shocked by your knowledge and wished to ask where you learned it from.” 

She sniffled before responding, “I-I see things, things I shouldn’t know, I saw that he needed fire to survive.” 

“I meant your other knowledge, I saw you checking his pulse, not many around here know to do so.” 

Taking a shaky breath she responds again, “Well, shit, I guess I saw that too without even realizing it.”

If you can play the ‘I Learned it in the Fade’ card, then I guess I’ll play the ‘I saw it in a vision’ card. Especially since I apparently have magic, FUCK. Could my week get any- Wait. No. Not finishing that thought since the universe will simply answer with a resounding YES, no matter how shitty an experience. 

Suddenly struck by how shitty her life is being right now she lays her legs flat on the floor and flops her arms beside her, “Well great,” she takes on a sarcastic and over-the-top voice as she continues, “And now on the ‘Let’s shit on Nikki week.’ We last left her with her job burning down, her man got sick from fucking around with tavern wenches, her family died during the Blight so she literally has no one that would miss her if she died. Now she’s just been dumped into the ass end of Thedas where they’re tits deep in demons being spewed out of a gigantic green hole in the sky that has marked her with markings that sear in pain every time the Breach expands and oh, let’s not forget that we’ve just given her magic to discover and the first thing she does with said magic is throw a potential teacher across the room, great first impression Nikki.” 

Solas listens patiently as he settles himself in front of her cell with a bemused expression on his face, “Don’t forget about the excitement you caused in camp to get to your Mabari friend.”

She grimaces and gives him a half smile for his attempt to add to her humor, “oh, yes. How could we forget Dal, the faithful Mabari that came to the Ass end of Thedas to be tits deep in demons with her to most likely die, whether by a soldier unable to contain the aggressive Mabari or by a demon to protect his useless master that can’t control her magic.” 

“She only can not control her magic right now due to inexperience, something that can be rectified in time.”

“Yeah, time we don’t exactly have right now-”

Before Nikki could say anything further, they are interrupted by a gasp from the doorway leading up. Whipping her head around, Nikki sees Cassandra standing by the door with a tray of what appeared to be food. Cassandra throws the tray to the ground and yells for the guards nearby to lock Nikki’s cell door. The guards look to each other and nod in the direction of the two mages.

“Seeker, a moment please.” Solas rose from his spot in her cell and walked over to Cassandra.

“Explain. Now.” Cassandra growled at the room.

Nikki spoke up from her corner before Solas had a chance to speak, glancing at her he notices that her knees are drawn up to her chest. Once again she has closed in on herself and Solas almost groaned aloud at the loss of progress he had made in getting her to open up.

“He needed fire to survive. That prisoner is no ordinary man and he has special requirements for healing just because of who he is biologically, genetically, by blood.” She used different terms at their confused looks, but her explanation calmed the seeker. Cassandra moved to get a better look at the man burning in the brazier. Obviously seeing what Solas saw, the flames licking along the man’s body but not consuming any part of him other than his clothes. 

“How do you know this information?” The question rang out amongst the silence, obviously the gentlest the seeker could manage, but it still came across angrily as Nikki let out a squeak at the tone. Cassandra looked away with conflict rolling in her eyes and seemed to be at a loss of how to handle the woman. Solas is overcome with a need to protect and care for her and before he can stop himself he begins to speak quietly with the Seeker. 

“She wants to help, despite how things may look to an outsider. She knew what needed to be done for the other prisoner and did it. With no thought as to how it would look or how others would react, like you just did. She has obviously been through quite the ordeal and your presence frightens her. Leave me with her for the time being and I’ll share with you what I get out of her, but for now I suggest you leave us.” 

Cassandra did not like the idea of it, but saw the merit it had and nodded curtly. She pursed her lips into a fine line and made her way back to the tray of food she had dropped, miraculously everything had stayed on the tray. Solas watches the seeker for a moment before turning to face Nikki. She was no longer hiding behind her curtain of hair and was looking at Solas doe-eyed. He gathered the paper and writing utensils by her door and slowly opened the door further to allow him to enter the cell. The mabari didn’t move other than to shift his head to view Cassandra in her entirety as she came closer. Solas placed the items next to her and sat down. 

“You have magic you did not know you had. You need to learn to control it not only for your sake, but for those around you. I would be honored to move from ‘potential teacher’ to mentor, if you would permit.” Solas watches her reaction carefully as she slowly nods her agreement. Her eyes jerk to the entrance of her cell and watches as Cassandra places the tray of food gently beside the door and Mabari guardian. Cassandra takes extra care to open the cell door and to leave it wide open and Dal moves back into the doorway.

“If you need anything before tomorrow, let the guards know and it will be taken care of.” Cassandra spoke as gently as she could. 

“Some elfroot to smoke would be great.” Nikki responds sarcastically in what she had hoped to me a low enough volume so as to not be heard, however that hope is dashed as both the seeker and Solas chuckle at her sarcasm.

“I’ll see what I can do,” with that Cassandra leaves the two mages to speak. Wait, so that’s a thing? Sweet Maker fanfictions got something right! Nikki watches as Cassandra leaves her alone in the dungeon with four men. Ugh, this sounds like the start of a really bad porno. Nikki grimaces at her own thought pattern and turns to Solas, who is moving the tray of food within Nikki’s reach, but not handing it to her. 

“You should eat da’len.” 

Nikki mutters under her breath something along the lines of “i’m not a child.” before reaching for the food and munching on the jerky that was there. Tough and more smokey than she’s used to tasting, it’s surprisingly good and full of flavors she had never before tasted. Probably Druffalo jerky. 

“If you would like to talk of recent events, I'm willing to listen. Perhaps it will help you to process all that has happened.” Solas hoped he was being gentle and helpful instead of investigative and prodding. His fears are laid to rest as she smiles at him and begins to talk.

Suddenly it all comes out, how he was fucking everything he came across and how he was only with her for her money and now that that had gone away, he just up and left her. How she had to fight to not blame herself because logically the only thing she was guilty of was not listening to herself.

It felt so good to talk to someone, anyone, even if it was Fen-fucking-harel that she spoke to. Even if she couldn’t tell him certain specifics, for it was wise to not be found out by the Dread Wolf. She still felt this sense of familiarity and security around him that she attributed to her having played the game so many times. 

Solas sat in shock at all that had befallen this kind soul in such a short amount of time. How she was so ready to put herself out on the line for a stranger’s sake was beyond him, but he had seen the evidence with his own eyes when she stood up to Cassandra when the unconscious man needed her to. 

“You mentioned earlier, that you could ‘see’ things. You ‘saw’ how to help him. I will admit to no small amount of curiosity at your abilities.” He changed the subject away from painful reminders he hoped. She smiled at him, grateful for the distraction.

“I have seen many things,” she spoke the truth of her situation, that he could tell, but her tone also held an element to it that seemed to be from memory of something else, “Things that were, things that are, and some things that have not yet come to pass.” He raised an eyebrow in confusion as she giggled at herself. “Sorry, inside joke with myself.” She explained sheepishly.

“Is that where you learned healer techniques that have not been in practice since what i’ve seen in the fade?”

She paused a moment and seemed to shrug to herself as if asking herself, why not, “Yeah, among other things.” 

Curiosity got the better of him and he inquired of her of what she had seen of the past of Thedas. Reluctantly, she spoke of events that had happened during the 5th blight, mentioning that she was ‘safely squirreled away elsewhere.’ However, Solas noticed that she refused to say where she had spent her time, of where she grew up or where she was from, always keeping the answer vague enough to leave him guessing, but with enough of an answer that he didn’t press her. Her manipulation of him was astounding and had he been any other mortal he would have fallen for her machinations completely. This revelation gave him a newfound respect for the small woman he had just met that day, yet he felt comfortable talking with her as if he had known her for years. She reminded him greatly of many of his friends that had been lost to the ages. 

Solas noticed that the fire from the brazier had died down and realized that they had conversed for quite a few hours. Rather than asking him to leave, Nikki had merely accepted his presence and had picked up the parchment and a piece of charcoal and he had been monitoring her progress as she sketched the unconscious man. Except she sketched him awake and in battle with a creature the likes he had never seen before. 

He paused their conversation to watch her draw for a moment as he tried to figure out what manner of creature this man faced, was this one of her visions. Had she seen him face this creature in the past or was this some new demon that they would face in the future. She peeked over at him and looked at his thoughtful expression and looked down at her drawing of Garrick fighting Cthulhu. She rolled her lips in on themselves as though she were a child with their hand caught in the sweets container and Solas looked at her, the unspoken question burning behind his eyes.

“This is just from my imagination, no vision, just me and my craziness,” she spoke with a tired lilt to her voice and Solas took pity on her. 

“I think that has been enough conversation for now, unless you would care to begin learning of magic in your dreams,” he spoke tauntingly as if he knew she would ask her next question.

“We can do that?” She asked with such wonder that he knew she had an unslakable lust for knowledge and learning as he had purposefully waited until she was barely staying awake to reveal his preferred way of teaching and communicating. 

He chuckled at her lightly and looked at her seriously before answering, “Yes, Da’len, I will find you as you dream in the Fade.” With that he gracefully gathered himself up to his feet and carefully picked his way around the Mabari that harrumphed at him as he passed. 

Nikki sat for a moment longer and continued to draw, this time drawing the center of her attention in this world. Hard lines of his muscles formed under her fingertips, pointed horns coming from his head that pointed straight up as if to skewer the sky. She took great care in the detail of his axe as he swung it at her previous drawing of Cthulhu, working in tandem with Garrick. After she finished her drawing, she folded the parchment in half and tucked it into her breast band. Settling herself onto the bed that was on the other end of her cell, she called for Dal to join her and he didn’t hesitate to jump onto her cot, halfway landing on top of her and covering her body with his as a sort of living blanket. Letting out a sharp gasp as he lounged across her body, she shoved him off her torso and encouraged him to curl into a ball at her side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ir abelas Da'len
> 
> I'm sorry child.


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as she closed her eyes she knew she had entered the Fade. The Fade looked very different in person than it did in the game. She knew she should have expected things to be lost in translation from game to reality or vice versa, but this was ridiculous.

Surrounding her was a familiar sight that she had never experienced before. Before her was the library from Disney’s the Beauty and the Beast, the 90’s cartoon version. She hadn’t yet gotten the chance to see the live action movie in theaters yet. Now she never would. With that thought she turned to the familiar translucent blue spirit she had seen on her first trip though.

“Well gee thanks for the warning that I was being dumped in the ass end of Thedas about to be buried tits deep in demons!”

“Was such a warning needed?” a male voice drifted out from the spirit as he cocked his head to the side in genuine confusion.

“Needed? No, but it would have been greatly appreciated.” Talking about things had alway helped her to process events, particularly stressful events. Like being dropped in the ass end of Thedas.

“You really like that phrase.” the spirit commented.

“Well, it rolls off the tongue pretty well.”

“I will be sure to remember to give adequate warning in the future.”

“Yeah, because you deal with people from another world so often,” her voice dripped with sarcasm and the spirit seemed to be contrite. Nikki left him to ponder what she had said as she looked around her area of the Fade and noticed that her surroundings looked familiar. With a gasp she realized that this was the library straight out of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Her dream library and she wandered over to the shelves to see that every book she had ever read lined the shelves, including text books. Looking at the spirit in wonder, he seemed to come out of his wonderings and began to speak with her.

“This area of the fade was created from your memories, this is your own corner of the Fade that your mind created and supplied with your own knowledge.” Fear gripped her in it’s icy cold grasp. Just as the panic began to set in, the spirit spoke again. “There is a barrier around this place, none can enter without your explicit permission. You created it to be this way when you entered and needed a safe place away from prying eyes.”

“Thank you, if nothing else than for explaining everything and for listening to my panic.”

“I’m honored to be in such a position, Renan.” 

“That word, Renan. What does it mean?”

“It means voice, for that is what we have chosen you to be for us.”

At that revelation, Nikki turned sharply from her wanderings around her dream sanctuary, “What do you mean ‘that is what we have chosen you to be for us’?”

The spirit seemed to contort in pain and Nikki quickly told him that it was okay to not answer the question right away, if she wasn’t meant to know yet, she wouldn’t push it and harm the spirits that had apparently chosen her somehow.

“Ir abelas, Renan.” Knowledge bowed his head in sorrow.

“It’s alright,” Nikki’s face scrunched in thought, “you know, I need something to call you other than ‘Knowledge Spirit’ or whatever.”

“Dirthara would serve as an alternate name,” he spoke in much the same speech pattern and tone as Cole from the game, “Maker, I wish I had more people to talk to about all this.”

“Fen’Harel would help.”

Nikki couldn’t help the burst of laughter that burst forth from her mouth and replied, “no, Fen’Harel would kill me if I told him what I know right now.”

“You know this?”

“You ever play chess with him?”

“Ah,” Dirthara spoke as if he suddenly realized something, “I see your point.”

“Speaking of which, since I'm guarded behind my own shield, how do I go to him then?”

“Simply create a door,” Dirthara wafted away from her as Nikki closes her eyes and extends her senses. Suddenly, as if a dam has broken in her mind, she could feel the Fade. All of the Fade, all at once she could feel the spirits of the Fade and the demons. Crying at the pain and anguish of the spirits turned demon, she falls to her knees and curls in on herself. 

This is how she appeared before Solas as he searched for her. Auburn hair flying loose, Solas sees that her ears are slightly pointed, not enough to be mistaken for a true elf, but enough that humans would doubt her blood. Guilt crept into his gut as he realized that he had made a snap judgment of her and assumed her to be just another human rejecting anything she didn’t understand, of course as he had conversed with her this mentality had changed. However, no matter how his mentality with her had changed, it didn’t change the fact that he had made a snap judgment and had done what he condemned the human race for doing. It was a sobering thought. 

“Da’len, what is wrong?” He asked as he crouched beside her. Upon closer inspection he notices that her markings have a faint glow about them again and apprehension fills him until the glow subsides.

“I can feel it. Solas, I can feel the Fade,” her eyes are wide in shock as she looks up into his eyes.

“All mages feel the Fade da’len,” he speaks gently as he absent mindedly conjures a cushion for them to sit on.

She sits on the cushion and thinks for a moment before asking, “did you feel the energy of the Fade shift as you summoned that cushion from a memory? Do you feel the spirit of the cushion trying to extend comfort?” at his face she looks down at the ground and mutters, “I didn’t think so.”

He looks to her in wonder as she continues bitterly, “Great, just fan-fucking-tastic. Yay Nikki discovers something cool and the first thing she does is fling her teacher across a dungeon and now said teacher has no idea how to deal with a student that can feel too much of the Fade, just like everything else.”

“What do you mean da’len?”

She drew her knees up to her chest and rubs at the cushion, as if trying to comfort the cushion for not being able to help her, “I notice everything, all at once. Not just in the Fade, but when I'm awake too. It’s always been this way, ever since I can remember. My parents tried everything to help me, meditation techniques roped in with combat training. Talking to specialized healers.” She continued to list measures that he had never knew existed as options to help her, but apparently nothing had helped and she had suffered from what was called ‘Panic Attacks’ at school almost daily. 

“It got better when a girl my age moved into the house next to mine. She had no idea about my panic attacks, and by some miracle I didn’t have any the weekend she moved in and we played together. My siblings never said anything but they knew I was in desperate need of a friend, at school I had no one and the other kids were cruel.” Slowly Nikki stretched her legs out on the cushion and leaned onto Solas’s side as she continued to talk, “I had had the best weekend of my life, to the point that when it ended I was terrified. I was terrified that I would go to school and my new friend would leave me and side with the other kids, I begged my mom to let me stay home from school. She just smiled at me like mom’s do, as if she knew something I didn't and told me to finish my breakfast before she took me to school.” 

Solas was surprised at his actions when he moved his arm to wrap around her shoulders without him telling his arm to do so. She leaned further into his embrace and laid her head on his shoulder and he got another look at her ears. He noticed that she had a metal rod sticking through the top of her ear, from one side to the other. It appeared to be decorative as it served no other obvious function. He had heard that the Rivaini had such practices, but he doubted she was from Rivain. Curiosity got the better of him as he gently prodded her to continue her story.

“Well, I got to school and for whatever reason this one kid decided that day was the day for him to be extra cruel and he began to tease me, I was on the verge of a panic attack when suddenly my new friend shot out of nowhere and punched the kid right in the face. She had just gotten to school and saw the kid teasing me and she saw how upset I was getting and she just reacted. We were best friends ever since, I was about fourteen at the time.” 

While he was glad she had found a friend at such a time, he couldn’t help but feel anger at her experience and a furious desire to protect her from any such experience in the future. Solas held his tongue as she continued speaking.

“You’re probably thinking that I’m telling you way too much, huh?”

“Not really, you seem to need someone to talk to and focus on in order to adequately process what has happened to you. I am glad you chose to confide in me, if only some of your story.”

Beside him, she chuckled and sighed before speaking again, “You see, for all that my family and I had tried, the one thing that worked for me we couldn’t have even thought of. My new friend Ellie became my focus and I didn’t even realize that I hadn’t had a panic attack all week. In fact when I worked up the nerve to tell Ellie about my panic attacks she almost thought I was joking until another kid nearby us piped up and confirmed what I was telling her. After that she made sure that we always grouped together for projects and after the first few months of school and I hadn’t had a panic attack, she began to encourage me to make new friends. My parents had an open invitation for Ellie and her family to come over whenever they wanted.” 

She stopped talking and Solas got the impression that she was done talking about her past. He processed what she said for a moment before he looked up and saw that a crowd of spirits had gathered around them and he was alarmed at the fact that they had grouped around the pair before he had even noticed. His alarm persisted until he noticed his friend, Wisdom led another, younger spirit towards them. 

“Ma falon,” Solas began as she approached only to be interrupted by Nikki.

“Hello young one, what are you called?” Nikki spoke in such fluent Elvhen that he would have guessed that she grew up learning the language as he had. However, that theory was dashed as she looked disconcerted for a moment at herself before she shook it off and continued her conversation with the young spirit.

“I am known as Justice , Renan,” a distinctly breathy female voice spoke softly to her. Solas started at the spirit’s use of what was apparently Nikki’s title among the spirits. In his search for her in the Fade that night he had come across several spirits saying that the Renan would come to him when she was ready. 

“What can I do for you Justice ?”

“I wish to help, but I do not know how I can help you Renan.” the spirit seemed to be in distress at its inability to help Nikki. 

“You wish to help a pain that has long since past, it is already healed and scarred, can you not feel it?”

The spirit paused and moved it’s head to the side as if it were looking at something that made no sense. “But you still hold pain of those memories.”

Nikki smiled gently, “Yes, but it is not my pain that I hold, but I feel saddened for the children that tormented me. I know how to handle myself, because of them I had to learn to handle myself pretty quick, and even then I needed help. I was just lucky to receive help when I did.”

The spirit still appeared distressed and Nikki rose gracefully to her feet and did something that he had never seen before. She walked over to the spirit and hugged it. Nikki physically hugged a being that should not be able to touch any mortal whether they were in the Fade or not. The sight before him distressed him and he held himself as still as possible and waited for Nikki to join him again.

After she sat back down on the cushion a thought struck him, “How did you not know of your magic before the events of the conclave?”

“Well, it never really manifested as it had yesterday,” she shrugged her explanation at him.

Solas balked at her statement, he had felt her power when she had thrown him across the dungeon. Such power would not have laid dormant for so many years, however he saw that she had told him the truth as she understood it and he was troubled. As she was right now, she was a danger to everyone around her, including himself. 

“Very well, would you be amenable to learning a bit about the magic you hold at your call.”

She nodded enthusiastically at the prospect of learning, he smiled as he summoned a stick to draw in the dirt surrounding them to illustrate his points as he made them. “First off, one must be connected to the Fade in order to utilize magic. The use of magic is nothing more than your will to change the world around you by using the fade as the energy source.”

“So if the Fade is just an energy source, then why are the spirits here, are they just memories of people as they pass through to the afterlife?” 

“That is one way to look at the spirits of the Fade, another is that the emotions and feelings that we experience in the ‘real’ world are so strong that in certain locations there are stirrings of emotions that lead to the birth of a spirit.”

“Spirits are born from emotions that are experienced in the real world, so are spirits lives dependant on the lives of everyone in the world?”

“I never thought of that, da’len. You have an interesting viewpoint that I have never even heard of.” 

“Yeah, that happens when you seem to notice everything all at once.” She brought a hand up to her temple and rubbed lightly. Translucent blue hands covered her own and a blue glow emitted from his own. Solas watched as a spirit of Knowledge soothed her mind, he had never seen this behavior from spirits before, never had they actively sought out any living being in all his time alive. He had always had to seek out spirits and had to work hard to gain their trust in order to just talk with them. Yet, here they were spirits seemed to line up at the opportunity to help the young woman at his side. It was all very strange. 

“Magic in the ‘real’ world is only the extension of your will drawing upon the ambient energy of the Fade that leaks out into the world, you aren’t necessarily using the Fade itself as a power source, but the excess energy that the veil can’t contain,” the spirit spoke to her when Solas found that he could not find his voice to continue their lesson for a moment. 

“So how do templars cancel out magic?” at her question the spirit of knowledge withdrew his hands and nodded towards Solas.

“Templars are able to cancel magic by using their abilities to extend their will to make reality more real,” Solas continued after he had found his composure.

“So a battle between a mage and a templar is more like a battle of wills rather than actual power?”

“Yes, and no. It does have to do with your own will versus theirs, but your own power factors in as well. A powerful mage could beat a templar if that templar is particularly weak or unwillful. A templar could beat a mage if the mage is unwillful or weak as well, however weak mages have another threat other than templars.”

“Demons,” at her word a desire demon suddenly appeared before them and before Solas could react, Nikki placed a hand on his arm to still his actions.

“Renan,” the demon said nothing else as Nikki stared into its eyes. Solas was about to warn her of such dangers but then Nikki spoke.

“Thank you for helping the spirits, I don’t know what you did or how you helped them, but thank you for helping them.”

“They are my brethren, you view me as a corrupted spirit, but that is not always the case and you won’t be able to save every spirit you come across.”

Nikki’s face hardened at her words and spoke forcefully, “just because I may not be able to help every spirit I come across, doesn’t mean I can’t try.”

The demon scoffed at her and turned to leave, “we may meet again, Renan. I am called Dareth.”

With that the demon left them in peace and Solas could not stop staring at the small woman next to him. She may not have moved throughout the ordeal, but he could feel the magic that she had subconsciously gathered around herself. He was relieved to find that while she was willing to talk to the demon, she was not idiotic about it. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it he spoke to her in a quiet tone.

“I think we have talked enough for our first lesson, we should probably - Wake up.” He spoke the last bit dramatically and Nikki bolted awake in her cot in the dungeon below the chantry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ma falon ~my friend
> 
> In case there is anyone who likes to be in the know, I plan to update at least once over each weekend. I currently have 122 pages, 55295 words written already. I would like to point out that at the point that I'm at most currently is only just arriving at Val Royeaux to speak with the clerics before the mages and Templars come into the picture.


	4. Chapter 4

“Well that was one hell of a dream, Dal,” she spoke absentmindedly to her canine companion that whined at her sudden movement. I swear that egg-head enjoys waking people up like that. She looked around at the dungeon surrounding her and noted that at some point during the night Garrick had been moved off the brazier and had been set in the middle of the dungeon again, still bound by manacles. Blood red eyes moved towards her inside her open cell, they stare at each other a moment and before either person has a chance to speak, the door leading out of the dungeon opens and in walks Cassandra and Leliana. 

Now that she has had a day to process her current situation, Nikki noticed a few differences from the game, they were subtle differences. For example Cassandra was taller than she was made out to be in game, she was sturdier and more muscled than she had been led to believe. I swear she must be at least six foot tall, at least she’ll be on par with Garrick. Cassandra’s jet black hair glistened in the torchlight as she led Leliana towards Garrick. 

Not sparing Nikki even so much as a glance, she began to circle Garrick. I almost feel sorry for her, she’s trying to intimidate Garrick. This may not end well, don’t break the manacles, don’t break the manacles, don’t break the manacles. Nikki chanted in her head, trying to convey to Garrick that breaking the manacles that currently bound his wrists would not be a good idea. Nikki didn’t notice that Lelianna’s eyes hadn’t left her form and was watching her carefully.

“Tell me why we shouldn’t kill you now,” Cassandra’s timbre voice rang out in the silence of the dungeon. Nikki pursed her lips in annoyance as Leliana hung back. She was using the shadows as another intimidation tactic as Garrick cocked his head to the side as if debating something. 

“The conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead. Except for you and her.” Garrick’s eyes flicked to hers once again before carefully lowering his eyes to the floor. Cassandra leveled her sword at his throat and he acted as if it weren’t there. Well a normal longsword does 1d8. As a half-dragon, Garrick has a Nat. AC of at least +4. Then there’s the Barbarian damage reduction, if he’s level 10 he has a DR of 2. He really doesn’t have any reason to fear anything here right now, he can break through those manacles. Please don’t break them. Nikki is pulled out of her mental tirade as Cassandra reaches down and grabs at his left hand. One of them. Nikki sniggers to herself and Lelianna looks at her with a calculated look. 

“Explain this.” 

Cassandra jerks his hand back to his lap and it was at that moment that their marks decided to flair up making Nikki groan in discomfort and Garrick grunted and raised his eyes once more to Nikki. The moment passed and Garrick once again had a bored look on his face as he looked back down at the ground. 

“Talk. Now,” Cassandra acted as if just by ordering him to do something, he would answer her questions. Nikki sighed in disappointment at Cassandra’s interrogation skills and settled herself on the edge of her cot and began to draw as she vaguely kept track of what they were doing. 

“Maybe he does not understand our language,” Lelianna spoke up after watching Nikki settle herself on her cot. 

Cassandra moved to be in front of Garrick and lowered her sword as she squatted in front of him and physically lifted his head so that he had no choice but to look at some part of her face. After a moment she seemed to find what she was looking for and sighed, “no, he understands us just fine. So let's stop playing games and you tell me what you know about what happened at the conclave.”

“Jack shit.” Nikki looked up at the sound of the unfamiliar deep male voice, she had never spent much time imagining the sound of Garrick’s voice so she didn’t know what to expect, but the amount of sheer cockyness was certainly not on her list.

“Excuse me!” Warrior though Cassandra may be, she was still a lady underneath and expected a certain attitude from her prisoners. Garrick was nothing that she expected in a prisoner, let alone a human. Nikki sniggered as the thought crossed her mind.

“You asked me what I know about what happened at the conclave. I don’t know jack shit,” he said the last part slowly as if teasing his captor. Cassandra’s face contorted in rage and she reared her fist back and would have hit him if Lelianna hadn’t caught her fist and pulled Cassandra up and away from the male prisoner. 

Lelianna spoke loud enough for all to hear, “We need him alive, Cassandra.” Nikki peeked over her parchment to see Garrick trying to hide his smirk by looking at the ground as much as he could. Yep, he totally saw that coming ladies. 

“Ladies,” Garrick began after he regained his composure, “I don’t know where I am or why there’s this mark on my hand.”

“But you know how you got here?” Lelianna had caught the omitted unknown that people would have listed.

“Caught that did you? Well I remember fighting alongside paladins at the World Wound when I fell into a hole and woke up in a church looking building. I saw some green orb go flying out of a room and when I picked it up, everything went boom. I woke up again in this green skyed place and this woman in priest's clothing tells me to run and of course, I let her run ahead of me. My job as ‘meat shield’ would be in jeopardy if I let an old woman protect my back.” He spoke the last sentence to Cassandra since she scoffed when he said that he ‘of course’ let Justinia run ahead of him. “So we get to the top of this broken up hill and, I shit you not, a giant green hand grabbed her and pushed me through the portal.”

Nikki pondered the information that he had revealed, I thought he was going to Numeria, not the World Wound. Of fucking course the fear demon would not have been able to take any of Garrick’s memories because he’s Mr. Fearless Barbarian from the Mwangii Expanse. Asshole. 

Cassandra moves to stand next to Lelianna and they discuss quietly for a moment before Cassandra turns to Garrick, “Why should we believe you?”

“Welp,” Garrick let the ‘p’ pop from his mouth, “as far as you’re concerned I have no way out right? I have no choice but to sit here and explain myself and throw myself upon your mercy.” 

Nikki sighed as anger crept into Garrick’s sultry voice. He’s going to break the restraints. She winces as he braces his arms and quickly jerks his hands apart and the manacle come away in pieces. Cassandra stands in wide eyed shock as Garrick slowly stands to his feet, his knees popping from kneeling on the floor for so long.

“I could have walked out of here at any time and there’s nothing that either of you could have done. I could have walked out of this building and flown into the wind, never to be seen again. Remember that as you go throwing around accusations about people that you know nothing about,” his voice deathly serious as he casually made his way to Nikki’s cell. 

Cassandra and Lelianna talked for a few minutes as Garrick eyed the Mabari at Nikki’s side. “Name’s Garrick, looks like we’re in this mess together or was that glow from earlier just a trick of the torchlight?”

Nikki chuckled, “I don’t think any trick of the torchlight could be green with where we are right now.”

“Fair enough, what’s your name?”

“Nikki, I’m glad to see that you’re feeling better.”

“Oh, was I not at my best in your presence? My apologies miss, it was not my intent to portray weakness in the presence of such a beautiful woman,” Garrick shamelessly flirted with her as he opened the door to her cell and leaned against the wall of bars without coming into the cell. Oh honey, I’m sorry but I kind of view you as my kid, sorry. 

Nikki smiled good naturedly until she heard Cassandra’s voice by the door. “Go to the forward camp Lelianna, I will take them to the rift.” 

Nikki’s head jerked towards her and squeaked, “them?!”

“Yes, your marks are clearly linked not only to each other, but also to the Breach and as such either could hold the key to sealing them,” Cassandra stated matter-of-factly and with no remorse, though she did throw Nikki a pitying look before steeling her features to not show any such weakness.

“Great! What’s a Breach?” Garrick asked genuinely confused. 

“It would be easier to show you,” Cassandra walked over to the door leading up and out of the dungeon and waits for Garrick and Nikki to follow her. 

Her second look at the Chantry allows Nikki to actually look at the Chantry since she was preoccupied by getting to Dal the first time. This time Dal’s heavy footfalls remind her that he is right at her hip, just as she had trained him to be. The game really didn’t do the Chantry justice, for example there were more doors than the game showed and there were all manner of people praying off to one side that had been specifically designated as a prayer area. The whole place was so beautiful and inviting, the stone walls strong and unyielding, but there were some beautiful stained glass windows above the prayer area that were completely left out of the game. All too soon she is led outside to snow-covered Haven and Nikki finds that she can’t draw her eyes away from the Breach.

The Breach was so much more intimidating than on a tv or computer screen. Seeing it in person filled her with fear and apprehension, she gulped and turned to Cassandra

“We call it the Breach, it’s a massive rift into the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour. It is not the only such rift, just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the conclave.” Nikki scowls at Cassandra’s explanation of the gigantic rift opening into the fade. She can’t really fault her since Cassandra’s not a mage and would have no way of feeling any different about the Fade.

“An explosion can do all that?” Garrick’s incredulous voice travels to Nikki’s ears as he speaks with Cassandra. 

“This one did. Unless we act, the Breach may grow until it swallows the world. You said you fell through a portal and arrived here. However, you are here now, will you help us to seal this breach?”

Garrick nods and gives Cassandra a look that said of course, “I’m not in the habit of abandoning people that I think I may be able to help.”

As the words leave his mouth the Breach pulse and Garrick and Nikki both fall to their knees at the sudden pain of the Breach expanding. I’m glad I was able to sleep last night. Cassandra kneels in front of them, her voice filled with concern, “Each time the Breach expands, your marks spread...and it is killing you, Garrick. We haven’t been able to examine your markings.”

Cassandra had said the last bit to her, and Nikki could definitely understand not being able to examine her markings since she woke up before Garrick and they were probably all busy trying to keep the demons being spewed out of rifts under control.

“Your markings may be the keys to stopping this, but there isn’t much time,” Cassandra rose to her feet and assisted Nikki to her feet as well. 

“So get to the giant Breach thingy and somehow use our marks to seal it, sounds simple enough,” Garrick made it sound so easy, it gave Nikki hope. When Garrick looked back at her, she deduced that that had been his intention when he said it. Smiling at him gratefully, she turned her attention back to Cassandra. 

“Then?” She asked of them hopefully.

“I already said that ‘I’m not in the habit of abandoning people.’ I also don’t particularly like having to repeat myself,” Garrick gave her a warning growl by the end of his statement and Cassandra had the tact to wince at her actions.

“I’ll offer any help that I can,” Nikki tried to ease Cassandra’s fears as she moves to follow Cassandra through Haven.

“They have decided your guilt,” gesturing to the people that they passed. All the villagers looked angry, frightened, and saddened. Nikki couldn’t really blame them, what with a giant green hole in the sky looming over their heads and the death of a peaceful holy guide. 

“They need it,” Cassandra continued, “the people of Haven mourn our most holy, Divine Justinia, Head of the Chantry. The conclave was her attempt to stop a war between templars and mages. She brought their leaders together and now they are dead.”

Nikki caught the sadness that crept to the edge of her voice towards the end and Cassandra took a cleansing breath before continuing, “We lash out , like the sky. We must think beyond ourselves, just as she did, at least until the Breach is sealed. There will be a trial, I can promise no more.” Yeah, but as events unfold you can’t even keep that promise Seeker. Nikki thought to herself sadly as they reached the gate that signaled the beginning of the path up the mountain. 

“Come, it is not far,” Cassandra said unnecessarily as they followed her up the path. They make their way up the path and just as they round the last corner before the bridge, the Breach pulses again as both Nikki and Garrick fall to the ground again. This is getting ridiculous, the pulses weren’t this fast at the chantry. Hmmm, what if the pulses are coming faster because Garrick and I are moving towards the Breach. Never thought of that before. Nikki comes out of her musings as Cassandra helps her to her feet again.

“The pulses are coming faster now,” indicating that Nikki was not the only one to notice this. She feels a little better knowing that at least Cassandra noticed this as well. They continued up the path until they reached the bridge. 

Nikki whipped her hand out and grasped Cassandra and Garrick by their sleeves and shouted, “Clear the bridge. Now!” The urgency in her voice causes her companions to look at her worriedly and it probably spoke volumes that the soldiers obeyed without recognizing the voice. They must be exhausted and ready to accept any order as long as it keeps them alive. 

The moment the last soldier’s foot left the bridge a large green flamed meteor crashed into the bridge sending chunks of stone in every direction. Nikki looked out on the frozen river to see a shade had already formed. Cassandra and Garrick were already climbing their way down to the creature, Cassandra drew her sword and Garrick picked up a discarded greatsword and hefted it up in both hands. 

Cassandra fights the first shade, Garrick moves to the shade that was forming behind her and began to attack it. Nikki breathed deep and extended her spirit to feel the area around her and she pushes her will towards the warriors. Protect them, please. She felt rather than saw a barrier snap into place around Garrick and Cassandra. 

Dal whined at them and Nikki opened her eyes that she hadn’t realized that she had shut, only to see Garrick get raked down his side by the shade’s claws. He remained unharmed, but she screamed in pain and wrapped her arms around herself. Dal looked at her concerned and at a loss of how to help. She winced at him and pulled her hand away to see that it was clean. Which makes sense, I’m not the one that got hit, but why the fuck did it hurt so much with just a barrier? The pain is gone almost as suddenly as it appeared and Nikki and Dal look out to see Garrick killing his shade and walking calmly to Cassandra as she finishes up her opponent. 

“Seems that’s all for now,” Garrick rests the great sword in one hand with the flat of the blade resting on his shoulder.

“Drop your weapon. Now.” Cassandra keeps her sword at the ready and eyes Garrick’s warily until he glares her way and grasps the sword by the blade. Before anyone could do anything he snapped the blade in two as if it were a flimsy tree branch and throws both halves so angrily and forcefully that Nikki followed it trajectory to see both pieces of the sword sticking out of the cliff face. 

“We’ve been through this, I don’t need a weapon to be dangerous.”

Nikki has to give credit where credit is due, she would probably be pissing herself to be on the receiving end of Garrick’s anger. Cassandra, to her credit, only swallows nervously before answering him, “You are right. I should remember that you both came willingly.”

“Good, so long as we understand each other,” Garrick casually leans down and picks up a maul that had landed nearby. Nikki jumps down from her ledge to join them on the frozen water and suddenly a wicked smile appears on her face as she starts running and stiffens her legs into a slide. However, she misjudged the slickness of the frozen water and slides headlong into the opposing wall, landing on her rear. Garrick laughs at her antics and Cassandra makes a disgusted noise, laughing at herself and wincing as she stood. 

Cassandra continued to lead their path up to the Temple of Sacred Ashes, they met with a group of two shades and the warriors made quick work of them. Garrick seemed to be picking up quick on how to deal with these ‘demons’. 

Then they met a group of two shades and a wraith that was attacking the warriors from the top of a hill. Well, you’re a ranged unit, but so am I. Nikki gathered her magic around her and felt the strings of the Fade and willed for lightning to strike the wraith. Opening her eyes, Nikki saw that a lightning bolt came down from the sky and obliterated the wraith. She had not expected such power behind her instruction and manipulation of the world around her. Sensing his master’s unrest, Dal leaned heavily on her leg and she found the strength to move toward the warriors after they had dispatched their shades.

“Hot damn woman!” Garrick exclaimed as she walked up, “we should just leave the rest to you huh.” 

“But then what fun would that leave you,” Nikki teased him back, swallowing her unease at her own power. 

Garrick laughed and nodded for Cassandra to continue to lead them up the mountain path. They went up the longest flight of stairs Nikki had ever seen and her thighs were burning at the top of it and she doubled over so as to catch her breath. Garrick laughed at her and while he waited for Nikki to catch her breath he went to a nearby wall and leaned against it to wait. Glaring playfully at him, Nikki finally stands up straight only to double over again from a cough that racked through her completely. He raised an eyebrow in concern until she wheezed out that the cough was from the cold, height, and exertion catching up to her all at once. 

Cassandra made a disgusted noise at them again before motioning them onward, “come on. You can hear the fighting.” 

The group rounds the corner and sees a small rift floating above a group of soldiers fighting demons that were being spewed out of the rift almost as fast as they were killing them. Garrick and Cassandra leap down the ledge separating them from the action and Nikki stays atop it and extends her will to form a barrier around her friendlies. Spying Solas and Varric among the fighters before her vision is blurred with tears from her barriers being hit with attacks from the demons. 

They all reach a lull between waves of demons and Solas grasps Garrick’s hand in desperation yelling as he thrust Garrick’s hand to the rift, “Quickly. Before more come through!”

Nikki, who had risen during the lull, fell to her knees again at the unexpected feeling of being stitched back together as Garrick’s mark knit the nearby rift close. All the soldiers nearby looked on to Garrick with newfound hope. Nikki was glad that she had faded to the background and was not inclined to change that as she slowly walked forward, her body shaking from the recent exertion. 

“Well, at least this thing is good for something at least,” Garrick mutters under his breath as Solas begins to explain.

“Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also place that mark upon your hand. I theorized the mark might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the Breach’s wake. And it seems I was correct,” he seemed very smug with his explanation of things.

“Meaning it could also close the Breach itself,” Cassandra interjected as she came up while wiping demon ichor off her sword. 

“Possibly,” Solas says noncommittally before turning back to Garrick, “it seems you hold the key to our salvation.” Solas clasped his hands in front of him and tried to look as meek as possible before Nikki shot him a look that said, ‘Really?!’ Solas caught the look and Nikki thought she saw the faintest hint of a blush before he turned his head completely away from her. 

“Good to know!,” a new voice interjected, “here I thought we’d be ass-deep in demons forever. Varric Tethras. Rogue, Storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tagalong.” He finishes with a wink at Cassandra, which she of course sneered at. Nikki can’t help the giggle that surfaces at his teasing of Cassandra and Varric gives her a charming half-smile. 

“So are you with the chantry or-” Garrick lets the question hang as Solas bursts out laughing.

“You can not be serious,” the bald elf comments.

“I’m a prisoner, just like you,” Varric nods at Garrick.

“I brought you here to tell your story to the Divine, clearly that is no longer necessary.” Cassandra sounds exasperated at just being in the same continent as Varric, let alone in the same group.

“Yet! Here I am. Lucky for you, considering events,” Varric muttered the last bit, but made sure he was loud enough to be heard by Cassandra. 

“Nice crossbow, don’t think i’ve seen any like it before,” Garrick tried to lighten the mood and Varric took the bait willingly. Nikki is suddenly struck by the thought that Garrick was talking to Varric about Bianca of all things and couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled forth at her own thought pattern.

Varric smiled at her, then twisted his head to look lovingly at the crossbow strapped to his back, “Ah, she’s quite the beauty. Bianca and I have been through alot together.”

“You named your crossbow Bianca?” Garrick asked incredulously.

“Of course,” Varric spoke as if there were any other thing that he would possibly have called his crossbow, “and she’ll be great company in the valley.”

“Absolutely not!” Cassandra looks personally affronted at the suggestion, “Your help is appreciated Varric, but-”

“Have you been in the valley lately Seeker?” this time it’s Varric’s turn to look disgusted, “your soldiers aren’t in control anymore. You need me.” Cassandra makes a disgusted noise and walks off to look up their path for a moment.

“My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions. I am pleased to see you still live,” Garrick turns his attention to the bald elf and begins to smile in approval. He noticed that Solas is drawing attention to his ears by being bald. Nikki smiles at Solas as well, but the elf’s attention is focused on Garrick. 

“He means, ‘I kept that mark from killing you while you slept,” Varric pipes up, “shit, you are a super tall one, you sure you aren’t part Qunari?”

Garrick laughs at the question, “considering I have no idea what a Qunari is I'm gonna go with a ‘no.’ Solas, you have my thanks, my mother always taught me to give great respect to healers.”

Nikki couldn’t help the snort that came out at his statement, I’ll bet your mom taught you to respect healers. Garrick gave her an odd look and turned to Cassandra who had come jogging back up to the group. “The way ahead is blocked, we’re going to have to go over that barrier,” she nodded to the north where Nikki saw a hurdle that was at least four feet tall and groaned, her body was already tired from the physical exertion.

Varric laughed at her and moved to assist her over the barrier before climbing up an over himself, “never caught your name Giggles.”

“Giggles,” Nikki looked at him incredulously.

“I thought Seer was a little too on the nose,” Varric shrugged at her, “we’ll see how I like it.” Nikki smiled, I’m at the beginning stages of Varric’s nickname process, yay! She wanted to do a little dance of happiness, but she thought that would look odd, so she just kept walking along the path.

“Still never caught your name.”

“Nikki, I’m just here along for the ride.”

Varric gave a low chuckle at that and turned his attention to Garrick, “How bout you Ghost?”

Garrick glanced back with a raised eyebrow, “Ghost?”

“Well you’re so pale!”

Garrick glanced at his hands and shrugged, “I am called Garrick. Garrick Kairason.”

Varric scrunched up his face, “that’s the oddest name i’ve ever heard.”

“Well it’s mine.”

“Alright, alright,” Varric raised his hands in defeat. They continued to walk further down the path and came across a group of demons that were made short work of by the group of five.

“Your barriers are quite powerful,” Solas commented as he walked next to her when they continued walking, “have you tried any offensive spells yet?”

Nikki shook her head, “I don’t want to accidentally hurt my allies, I’m only just starting out here. I took out a wraith with a Lightning bolt.”

“And she means a literal Lightning bolt, I’m just glad I wasn’t anywhere near it,” Garrick called back, mid sentence with Varric.

“That is a good mentality, perhaps you could keep the offensive spells for the ranged demons before any of us get to them?”

“Good idea,” Nikki agreed and listened as Varric began asking questions of Garrick.

“So where are you from, Garrick Kairason, I can’t quite place your accent,” curiosity dripping from his voice, the author barely able to contain his excitement at a new subject/character. 

“Not surprised you can’t place it, let’s just say I'm not from around here at all,” Garrick looked at Cassandra with a smirk. Cassandra rolls her eyes and smiles back at Garrick.

“Well, I’d gathered that much,” sarcasm falling from his lips and grimaced at Garrick taking Cassandra’s side. Nikki shook her head at Varric and Cassandra’s antics, honestly children. 

Changing the subject Garrick slows down to walk beside Solas, “So Solas, you seem to know a lot more about this mark than anyone else.”

Nikki has to bite her tongue lightly so she doesn’t say anything, “Unlike you and I, Solas is an apostate.”

“Technically, Seeker, all mages are apostates now.”

“What’s an apostate?” Garrick pipes up.

Before she can stop herself, Nikki answers, “Apostates are any mage that is not associated with the Chantry circles, but now the Chantry circles fallen because a vast majority of the mages were mistreated by the templars that protected the circles.”

Cassandra had the grace to grimace as Garrick continued the conversation, “what did the templars protect the mages from?”

“Themselves,” Nikki supplied as Solas’ head jerked to look at Garrick suspiciously, “mages here are any person with magical abilities, not everyone has the capability to use magic. The mages here are also susceptible to possession of demons from the Fade.”

“These same demons that are falling out of that massive rift?”

“Yes, and no,” Nikki continues, the words just tumbling out of her mouth, revealing knowledge that Solas hadn’t told her, “The Breach is like an open wound in the Fade and is forcing spirits to fall through and the shock of suddenly being in this world is what is turning them into demons.”

Solas looks at her suspiciously and she looks at him from under her eyelashes as if to say ‘i’m sorry I didn’t tell you I knew everything you taught me last night.’

“So then how are the mages here susceptible to possession of demons if they are all just spirits on the other side?”

“Not all beings in the Fade are spirits,” Solas speaks up in his ‘teacher’ voice, “mages are connected to the Fade, as it is the power source of magic. Some beings that reside in the fade are spirits that have been corrupted and thus became demons. Other spirits are wanting desperately to come here to the real world and are called to like-minded people that are desperate for help.” 

“Sometime the relationship becomes that of a symbiosis between the spirit and the person, but sometimes the emotions of the person are too much for the spirit to handle and it ends up corrupting the spirit,” Nikki continued.

“How do the Templars protect from that?” Garrick was so full of questions that they continued to answer them and speak even through demon attacks that accosted them on their way to the forward camp.

“Templars don’t necessarily protect from that, it’s more like they have the willingness to kill the mages that succumb to possession and are able to cancel out a mage's magic by making reality more real,” Solas answered as they came up on the gate to the forward camp only to be stopped by a rift right outside the gate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 65753 words, 149 pages, and they have left Val Royeaux. Still looking for a beta to make this fic better, just send me your email. mine is rb82837@gmail.com


	5. Chapter 5

Somehow over the course of the battle Nikki ended up directly underneath the rift and Garrick was too far away from the rift to affect it. Looking around she noticed that as of that moment there were no demons around her and she turned her gaze up to the rift. Extending her senses to the rift she was nearly overcome with the same feeling she experienced last night, feeling the entirety of the Fade. Tears formed in her eyes at the feeling and willed for the rift to close. The feeling of her body being stitched together rolled across her and she gasped at everything happening all at once. Once the rift was closed she fell to her knees, kneeling in a fetal position, sobbing. They all looked at her in shock, the demons they had been fighting had been sucked back into the rift when she closed it. 

Solas ran over to her and placed his hands on her shoulder and she screamed out in another sob. Taking a steadying breath he pulled the small woman into his arms and began murmuring an ancient elvhen lullaby to her. It was a lullaby that Mythal had taught him when a child refused to leave his arms, but was sobbing uncontrollably. Luckily his friend had been nearby and had seen his distress. He noticed that as he sang to her, her sobs slowly died and she was taking shaky breaths. 

“It appears that you are both able to close the rifts,” Cassandra said uncertainly.

“It seems she’s more effective at this than you are though,” Varric laughed, causing Nikki to let out a chuckle, which surprised everyone there and Garrick caught on.

“Oh, good sir, you wound me so,” Garrick’s hands rose to hold his chest above his heart and Nikki looked at him as he did this and giggled, her tears drying on her face before she wiped at them. Solas helped Nikki to her feet and Cassandra nodded to them before turning to the other soldiers and ordered them to open the gate.

The gate opened and the party was accosted by the sound of Lelianna arguing with Chancellor Roderick. As soon as Garrick saw the man in priest’s robes he stopped the group and asked, “so what exactly is the Chantry?”

“You really aren’t from around here huh, Ghost?” Varric comments and Garrick smiles in response and turns to Cassandra as she answers.

“The Chantry is the name of the church of Andraste, they follow the directive of the elected Divine, which is always female. All of the really powerful positions in the Chantry are held by women,” Cassandra glares at the Chancellor on the other side of the bridge. 

“I see. Solas I want you to stay with Nikki, don’t leave her while we talk with this guy,” Garrick told Solas, the elf nodded and gave Garrick a look that said he had been planning to do that anyway.

Lelianna looks up at them relieved to see them, “you made it. Chancellor Roderick, this is-”

“I know who they are. As Grand Chancellor of the Chantry, I hereby order you to take these criminals to Val Royeaux to face execution,” he spoke to Cassandra haughtily as Nikki curls into Solas’ side and takes a few steadying breaths.

“‘Order me’? You are a glorified clerk, a bureaucrat,” Cassandra intensifies her glare at him and moves to step in front of Nikki.

“And you are a thug, but a thug who supposedly serves the chantry,” Roderick spat in her face from across the table that divided them. Cassandra let out a disgusted noise as Lelianna came to their defense.

“We serve the most holy, as you well know-”

“Justinia is dead,” Roderick shouted at her and spoke firmly, “we must elect a replacement and obey her orders on the matter.”

“So then no one is really in charge here huh,” Garrick brought the attention over to him and Roderick turned on him.

“You brought this on us in the first place,” Roderick shook his head defeatedly, “call a retreat Seeker, our position here is hopeless.”

Cassandra walked up to the table and placed her hands on either side of the map that rested on it, “we can stop this before it’s too late.”

“How? You won’t be able to survive long enough to reach the temple. Even with all your soldiers,” Roderick nods to the soldiers milling about. 

Nikki speaks up from the back of the group, “that’s only because there was no one around to close the rifts that kept spewing demons, we’ve closed all the ones leading up here including the one that was right outside your fucking gates.”

Relieved that she had regained her confidence the group parted so that Nikki’s glare would reach Roderick and he seemed to wilt under her stare.

“We must get to the temple, it’s the quickest route,” Cassandra spoke up from the side.

Lelianna shook her head at Cassandra, “but not the safest. Our forces can charge as a distraction while you go through the mountains.”

“We lost contact with an entire squad on that path. It’s too risky,” Cassandra argued back with a grimace.

“Listen to me,” Chancellor Roderick pleads with them, “abandon this now before more lives are lost.”

“No,” Nikki walked up to the map with more confidence than she felt,” we split up. Garrick, you Varric, and Solas take the mountain path while I charge with Cassandra and the soldiers. There’s a rift at the end of the mountain pass and there’s a rift that Cullen’s forces are dealing with as well.” Lelianna looked as if she wanted to argue the plan until Cassandra subtly shook her head. The group moved to do as she had suggested and Chancellor Roderick couldn’t resist one last dig, “on your head be the consequences.”

At that Nikki rounded back on him, “enough you insufferable massive bag of hot air. You speak of nothing but hopelessness and refuse to even think of any plan other than running away like a coward. You aren’t even helping to heal wounded soldiers that are risking their very lives to save your insufferable ass, Kadanshok defransdim vashedan!.” 

Varric caught the insult and could not stop the tumult of laughter that peeled from him as he doubled over. Garrick, Cassandra, and Lelianna all looked to Nikki with amusement and pride in her for saying what they all had been wanting to say. Nikki leveled her glare at him and he once again wilted beneath her gaze and hung his head as he retreated, looking for all the world like a child that had been scolded by his mother.

Before Garrick went out of earshot, Nikki heard him ask Varric, “what did all that mean?”

“She basically said, 'I shall use my foot to assault you in the genitals',” Varric was still having trouble controlling his laughter and as Nikki turned back around she saw Solas staring at her critically. Oops, guess i’ll have to come up with an explanation as to how I know Qunlat, I can’t just say that I'm a humongous dork that decided to learn the language based off a video game, then again I could just pull Solas’ card against him, ‘I learned it in the Fade! Call me out on that bullshit bitch!!’ She finished her mental tirade and followed Cassandra up the main path to the Temple to meet up with the soldiers that were already there. Her heart hurt at the bodies that littered the side of the path, everyone too busy to deal with the dead. Luckily it was cold enough that the smell really wasn’t that bad and the bodies were still fresh. 

By the time they reached the camp that was right by the temple, Nikki was winded again and Cassandra looked torn between concern and disgust. Cassandra would have noticed that while Nikki was not used to such physical activity she endured it without comment, but after seeing her reaction to closing a rift Cassandra wondered how she was going to get through closing this one by herself, Cassandra didn’t have the skillset to calm someone down from that. Then again she didn’t think Solas did either, maybe this will be an entirely different situation. 

They rounded the corner together and saw that there was indeed a rift in the middle of a platoon of soldiers fighting against the demons, Nikki hesitated a moment and took a steadying breath before calling to Cassandra, “just keep the demons off me. Cassandra nodded and readied her shield and made sure to keep Nikki in her sights and they moved to join the fray. 

Just as it had happened last time, Nikki ended up directly underneath the rift and she glared at it before extending her will towards it. The effect was instantaneous and she crumpled to the ground, and just like last time the demons the soldiers had been fighting were sucked back into the rift before the soldiers had a chance to destroy them. Cassandra stared in wonder and helplessness as Nikki began sobbing again and Dal her dutiful Mabari wedged his head into her hands, forcing her to acknowledge his presence. 

“You’ve closed the rift, thank the Maker,” Cullen spoke as he jogged over to the women.

“Don’t thank me, Commander, thank the prisoner, she insisted that we split up to tackle the Temple from two fronts,” Cassandra gestured to Nikki who was still kneeling, sobbing into Dal’s fur. Dal whined and looked directly at Cullen, a strange look crossed his face and he knelt in front of the female prisoner. 

Reaching his hands out to force Nikki to look at him he ordered her, “breathe with me,” he then began to take deep exaggerated breaths. To Cassandra and Lelianna’s surprise, Nikki began to mimic him and eventually her breaths began to even out and her sobs subsided. She stared at Cullen with a focus that rivaled any Tranquil that Cassandra had seen. Cullen then helped Nikki to her feet and she shakingly nodded her thanks. Wiping her tears from her face, she scrunched her face into a scowl.

“You probably think I'm some big cry-baby huh?” Nikki directed the question at Cassandra and all she could hear in the question was self-loathing rather than accusation which she would’ve expected from such a question.

“Not at all,” Cassandra offered a gentle smile, at least as gentle as she could manage.

It was then that Garrick, Varric, and Solas made their way around the corner making Lelianna gasp in relief, “Thank the Maker.” 

Upon seeing Nikki in distress, Solas immediately walks over to her and wraps an arm around her. He begins to murmur encouragement to her and the soft sound of his deep voice calms her further and taking another cleansing breath she moves to walk towards Garrick with determination. Cullen nods at her and runs off to assist one of his wounded soldiers off the battlefield. 

The group make their way up to the temple itself and Nikki’s heart hurts again at the frozen agony that some corpses display on their path. Some are frozen as statues, the blast immediately burning and solidifying their bodies. Garrick sees the needless death all around them and growls in frustration, he knows that it was his own curiosity that picked up the orb and started everything. However, he is not so naive to think that all of these events were his fault and dwelling on the matter won’t help anyone. Tearing his eyes away from the corpses he raises them to look at the massive Breach. He eyes it critically until Nikki clears her throat and as if sensing his thoughts she shakes her head solemnly.

“Trust me, stay on the ground,” she speaks low so as to attempt to keep the conversation between them, but she knows everyone is too close for her to go into specifics and Garrick looks at her suspiciously until he remembers that she’s a ‘seer’.

They reach a balcony overlooking the crater that once was the Temple of Sacred Ashes. “This is our chance to end this now,” Cassandra speaks firmly as she attempts to be inspirational. Sorry Cass, Cullen’s just better at the inspirational stuff, guess that’s why he’s the Commander and not her. Nikki’s eyes are drawn to the Breach above them, it looks so much more terrifying than on the tv screen, which makes sense since she’s seeing it in person. No fucking duh, shit for brains. There’s a massive difference between knowing something and seeing it, I knew the Breach was massive, but to be this big. I don’t think it is possible for the game to have done it justice, it was terrifying just being near it. 

Though she expected it, Corypheus’ voice echoing around them still surprised her and she let out a squeak when he began to speak, “Now is the hour of our victory, bring forth the sacrifice.”

Fear crept into Cassandra’s voice, “What are we hearing?”

“At a guess? The person who created the Breach,” Solas shrugged at her in an attempt at nonchalance, but Nikki could see the horror in his eyes as he recognized the voice. 

They continued down the path and Nikki could see the Red Lyrium ahead, as their path led them closer she could hear a faint singing that seemed to seep from it and Garrick began to move curiously towards it until Varric and Nikki both reached out and grabbed an arm each to stop him.

“You know this stuff is Red Lyrium, Seeker,” fear then spreads to Varric’s voice.

“I see it, Varric,” Cassandra responds thoughtfully.

“But what’s it doing here?” Varric was visibly nervous as he eyed Garrick before letting his arm go.

“Magic could have drawn on Lyrium beneath the temple, corrupted it,” Solas theorized out loud.

“Ugh, it’s evil don’t touch it, whatever you do,” Varric shuddered and walked quicker as he passed the giant red stalagmite. 

“Keep the sacrifice still,” Corypheus’ voice rang out suddenly, effectively stopping all conversation. 

“Someone help me,” Cassandra’s eyes widened at the new voice that trembled in fear.

“What’s going on here,” a soft feminine voice rang out just after Divine Justinia’s.

Cassandra spoke aloud what they were all wondering, all except for Nikki who had the wisdom to keep her face locked in a concerned expression, “Who was that voice most holy call out to?”

Nikki was helped by Garrick down the last ledge into the crater that held the temporarily closed rift. The moment her feet touched the ground a vision appeared before the rift, the rift currently looked like a giant sickly green crystal that turned and changed shape as if on a whim. Nikki could see reflections in the crystals, reflections of terrified people and spirits begging to be set free. The vision appeared as a tall, dark shadowy figure that looked to have a misshapen head and Divine Justinia’s face could easily be seen as a small elf woman appeared as if walking in on the scene.

“Run while you can! Warn them!” the Divine shouted out at the elf and she redoubled her efforts to gain freedom. 

“We have an intruder,” the figure Nikki knew to be Corypheus spoke as if the elf woman were a gnat to be swatted away, “kill the elf.”

That statement spurred the Divine into action and she kicked at a circular object that Corypheus had been holding and it went flying out of view. A blinding light exploded the scene before them, ending the vision.

“What did we just see?” Cassandra demanded of the group, “Is this vision true?”

Cassandra looked directly at Nikki, but she was staring at the Breach in the sky in trepidation. Instead Solas came to Nikki’s rescue, “echoes of what happened, The Fade bleeds into this place. This rift is now sealed, but it is closed- albeit temporarily. I believe that with both of them working in tandem, the rift will be rendered open and can then be sealed properly and safely. However, opening the rift will likely attract attention from the other side.” 

“That means demons, stand ready!” Cassandra shouted at the soldiers that Lelianna had brought with her and had positioned in strategic places around the crater.

“Pride! It’s going to be a massive pride demon,” Nikki suddenly spoke up her warning.

Cassandra eyed her, “You’re sure?”

At Nikki’s nod Cassandra ordered some of the archers to move into a different position and ordered the ground troops to be more effective at facing a Pride demon, using strategies that the Seeker would have learned in her training. Lelianna watched the exchange with a critical eye and filed the information away for later, she had heard that the prisoner ‘Nikki’ was a seer, but for the woman’s visions to have such clarity as to know what kind of demon would come out of the rift. It left Lelianna appropriately skeptical and wary.

Lelianna shot Cassandra a look and she responded with, “she saved the lives of a dozen men when she ordered a bridge cleared moments before it was destroyed by the Breach, her intent that I’ve seen thus far is that she’s trying to help.”

Cassandra directed for Garrick to move to one side of the rift and for Nikki to be on the other, Solas kept close to Nikki and Varric kept close to Garrick. In unison Garrick raised his hand to the rift and Nikki extended her will towards it. She gasped at the feeling of being ripped open and as soon as the rift was open, the massive Pride demon appeared on cue. Nikki struggled to stay upright as she felt the pain of the spirit that was Wisdom before it became Pride. Hands grasped her arms and moved her further away from the demon as electricity crackled around the giant horned creature.

“Solas,” Nikki’s voice is ringed with sorrow. He stares at her in wonder, he guesses that she can feel the spirits of the Fade, even in the real world. They reach the edge of the crater and begin circling around and Solas notices a shade breaking off from the group and following them before any of the warriors had a chance to stop it. Varric kept shooting bolts at it to distract it back to the rest of the group, but the shade persisted. 

Nikki suddenly stops and wills herself to stand firm and sees Garrick running after the shade, and knew he would be too late. Her eyes shift to the shade in front of her and she takes a steadying breath before whispering to Solas, “Make a barrier against fire.”

As soon as Solas snaps his barrier in place, Nikki extends her will to the shade and wills for fire to hurt the shade. Her eyes closed and her hand extended, Solas watches in awe as she casts her fire spell without the use of a foci. He is eternally grateful for heeding her warning now as he stands beside the inferno that is now the shade. Suddenly Garrick comes into their view as he uses his sword to slice through the shade. He stands in the middle of the flames as if they weren’t there at all and in fact rolls his shoulders in gratification before leaving the inferno with flames licking at his armor. 

Nikki comes back to herself and the inferno dissipates slowly so as to avoid a backlash of cold. Solas fights to control his breathing, he hasn’t seen such power since before his slumber when the Evanuris reigned supreme. However, he can’t stop his hand from shaking and he moves the offending hand behind his back until he can get it under control and stares thoughtfully at Nikki. 

Her knees shake as she tries to continue circling to the back side of the rift and her attention is drawn to the Pride demon just as he brought his fist down on a soldier that had been fighting it. The soldier was dead instantly, flattened into a pancake by the great horned monster’s fist. Bile rose in her throat and she spits it onto the ground to her side. Garrick was arguing with Cassandra in the midst of the fighting.

“Focus on the rift, we can distract him while you weaken it,” she shouted at his direction as she attacked the Pride demon.

“I’m not leaving you guys to die while I play run around with the damn rift!”

“If you don’t focus on the rift then more shades will come through to help it,” Nikki bolted from Solas’ side before he could stop her and she was running straight at the rift that had at least four shades directly beneath it. The shades all turned in unison as Nikki ran up, but she ignored them and turned her focus to the rift. Extending her will and this time her dominant hand to the rift needing the extra focus that her hand brought to the magic within her. 

The now familiar feeling of feeling the Fade while awake still made her fall to her knees, but she was at least breathing normally for now. She looked up to see that the shades that had been beneath the rift were no longer there and she looked up to see the shades in the Fade, but they were no longer shades. They were spirits again and they were leaving that area of the Fade already. Nikki smiled before her eyes widened as a whip that seemed to be made of electricity crackled in front of her face and she scrambled back, scooting backwards on her butt after she got her legs out from under her. 

She scooted until her back hit something solid, throwing a look over her shoulders to see that she was against a wall. Sighing in relief, she used the wall as a support to help her keep her balance as she slowly stood up again. Looking up she saw that the rift was still open, but seemed to be calmer. She saw that the Pride demon had fallen to his knees as she had and that he was just now shaking off the effects of whatever it was that she had done. He had apparently struck out blindly and had nearly gotten in a lucky shot. Nikki knew that she had to try again, but she didn’t think she could stay conscious a second time. 

While the demon had been incapacitated, Garrick left the warriors for a moment and ran over to the rift, he extended his marked hand to the rift. Nikki’s eyes rolled in the back of her head as she collapsed in sudden darkness. Garrick broke his connection with the rift and used his natural speed to reach Nikki before she fell to the ground again. Catching her and running her over to the edge of the crater, the whole series of actions happening so fast that Solas if he hadn’t known better would have thought that Garrick had Fade-stepped in order to move so fast. 

Solas turned on his heel and ran back to where Garrick had laid Nikki, a healing spell at the ready in his hand causing it to glow an ethereal blue. Solas healed any cuts she had gotten from the rocks and watched as Garrick alternated between fighting the demon and attempting to seal the rift. Every time Garrick would mess with the rift, Nikki’s marking glowed and she would groan in discomfort. Solas almost yelled for them to stop fucking with the rift before shaking his head at his own stupidity and glared at the woman lying in front of him. He had never felt this way before she came into his life, he knew what needed to be done and he did it. The ends always justified the means, right?

He had never had to deal with self-doubt before, but for the first time since he had awakened from his slumber he wondered if his plan was the right thing to do. “Who are you, da’len?” he wondered aloud at her unconscious form. Garrick howled in rage and Solas brought his attention back to the fight that was happening near the rift. He blinked in shock as he saw Garrick jump up onto the demon’s back and began to hit the creature with his fists. He brought his closed fists down on the demon’s head and the creature fell to the ground, stunned. Garrick used the opportunity to run to the rift and extended his hand once more, this time the rift closed with a blinding flash. Solas turned his head at the brightness and turned back in hopefulness, only to be disappointed as Garrick lay unconscious where the rift had been and the Breach in the sky still remained.

Nikki and Garrick remained unconscious after their assault on the Breach, for three days Solas, Cassandra, and Healers all hovered over both Nikki and Garrick. Over the course of those three days Nikki’s heart had stopped once and Garrick had lost so much heat that they had had to drag a large brazier over to the cabin when they realized that Garrick was too dense to move without a full squad lifting him. They only managed to get him down the mountain because Cullen took the brunt of his weight, but even he struggled down the mountain with the people’s new Heralds. 

They had been so sound in their clumber with people coming and going at all hours of the day, that an elven servant woman barged into the cabin without a second thought and she dropped off the resupply of elfroot that had been ordered to be sent to the Heralds’ cabin. The elven woman turned to leave and the floorboards creaked under her weight which was normal, but what was decidedly not normal was the whoosh of sound that accompanied the common sound. She turned her head to see both Heralds looking at her in confusion and she noticed that the woman immediately smiled comfortingly at her, while the male companion looked at her curiously.

She fell to her knees and kneeled before the Heralds beds and she couldn’t help the fear that entered her voice, “I didn’t know you were awake my Lords, I swear!”

“There’s no reason to be so afraid woman, where are we?” Garrick’s attempt at comforting came across as more demanding and the elven woman cowered into the floor. 

“I beg your forgiveness and your blessing, I am but a humble servant. You’re back at Haven my Lords, they say you saved us. The Breach stopped growing, just like the marks on your bodies, it’s all anyone has talked about for the last three days.”

“Who all has seen to our injuries,” the Lady Herald spoke much kinder than the Lord Herald and the elven woman relaxed slightly at the softness of her voice.

“The healers led by Adan, the elven apostate Solas, and Lady Cassandra,” as if saying her name could suddenly summon the woman, the elven servant glanced nervously at the door and spoke quickly, “Lady Cassandra is in the Chantry with the Lord Chancellor, she wanted to know when you’ve awaken my Lords, ‘At once’ she said.”

With that the elven servant bolted out of their cabin and Nikki took stock of what both she and Garrick were wearing, which was not much. A fire roared between them out of a brazier that they had set up in the middle of the one roomed cabin. Garrick turned his head respectfully as she got up and grabbed nearby clothes.

“You looking away for my sake or yours,” she asked with her back to him, his eyes were drawn to the tiger at her left hip connected by strands of electricity with a purple dragon that was at her right shoulder. The swirls of her other markings hugged at the pictures, but did not interfere with it, it was as if the markings were hugging at her body and he was shaken from his observations when her tunic hid the sight from him.

Clearing his throat he eyes her, “Well, my mothers raised me to give respect to an undressed individual because they are at their most vulnerable.”

Nikki smiled knowingly at him, “your mothers were wonderful women, but don’t worry about decency around me, you saw my reaction to when I was closing the rifts?” At his nod, she continued, “I used to get panic attacks at school as a kid, some of them were so bad I started stripping so that I wouldn’t have to feel cloth on over sensitive skin, I got used to coming to half naked surrounded by kids laughing at me. Body image isn’t really a thing for me, I had a friend that worked hard to help me get over it.” 

Garrick felt the familiar pinprick of rage on her behalf, he knew how cruel children could be to someone that wasn’t normal, or at least as normal as them. “So did you see my mothers?” 

Her grins widens and her teeth flash at him in a brilliant smile, she’s grateful for his change of subject, she may have gotten over her childhood, but that didn’t mean she wanted her life laid bare before people she had only just met. “You could say that,” she speaks coyly and watches as he gets dressed in the clothes they had lying out for him.

Once he is dressed, he heads to the door only to be stopped by a hand on his arm, “you should be prepared for a large crowd out there.”

“Thanks for the heads up, they gonna come at us with pitchforks and torches?”

She laughs at his nervous joke, setting him at ease, “I think if they wanted to still kill us, then we would have woken up on the way to Val Royeaux.”

“Fair point, wherever the hell that is,” he mumbles the last bit under his breath as he opens the door to see that she was not exaggerating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Felt like being nice and posting another chapter. I've been writing like crazy lately. A little background that I just thought of, I started working on this around April 2, 2017. I am currently at 158 pages in Google Docs and 69,410 words.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now back to our regularly scheduled updated chapters

It seemed as if all of Haven had lined the pathway from their cabin to the Chantry peeking over the other buildings up the hill. Garrick notices as Nikki tries to halfway hide behind him, obviously crowds are not her specialty despite her courage inside the cabin. He accommodates and helps with hiding her and he listens to the crowd around them.

“There they are, the Heralds of Andraste.”

“They say Andraste herself protected them as they stepped from the Breach.”

“I heard that her Mabari is Andraste’s Mabari made flesh once more.”

“I thought it was Divine Justinia that protected them from the Breach.”

“I heard they came from another world and that they were hand picked by the Maker to save us.”

Garrick looked troubled at the amount of ‘hero-worship’ that he was hearing from the crowd, not one negative comment towards Nikki or himself. This troubled him, this level of blind devotion never ended well, and what was with that Herald of Andraste bit. Why were all these people calling him ‘My Lord’? It wasn’t something that Garrick was used to and it set him on edge, once again a hand appeared on his arm and he looked up to see Nikki walking beside him with her arm hooked through his, as if he were escorting her up to the Chantry. 

Her smile distracted him from his thoughts and she whispered to him, “smile, for these people we are their beacon of hope, behind closed doors we can yell and shout that we aren’t what they are claiming us to be, but for now just smile and give these people what they need, hope.”

Her words sunk into his understanding and he forced himself to flash a brilliant smile at the people, taking care to try and keep his lips over his fangs that betrayed his heritage as something other than human. 

They made their way up to the Chantry and Garrick eyed all the people they passed and it became more and more clear that, at least of the people that had come out, everyone worshiped the ground that he and Nikki walked on. His skin crawled at the scrutiny that was leveled his way and had to fight to not run through the crowd to his destination, only Nikki’s trembling hand kept him in check. She didn’t like this any better than he did, he glanced at her face to see the smile was straining and her teeth gnashed together. 

They finally reached the doors of the Chantry and at the other end of the church, Garrick and Nikki could hear the voices of Chancellor Roderick, Cassandra, and Lelianna all arguing. They couldn’t make out the specific words, but it didn’t take a genius to guess that the argument centered around the two Heralds that stood outside the door to the war room. Garrick looked to Nikki in confirmation and waited for her nod to open the door. They were accosted with Chancellor Roderick’s voice as they walked through and secretly Garrick was glad that the Chancellor had kept his skepticism. 

“Chain them. I want them prepared for travel to the capital for trial,” Nikki glanced at the templar guards that were stationed on either side of the door. They looked at each other nervously, they had qualms about placing such sudden public figureheads under arrest. 

The guards were visibly relieved when Cassandra ordered, “Disregard that and leave us.”

They left and the Chancellor rounded on Cassandra, “You walk a dangerous line, Seeker.”

Nikki hung behind Garrick and eyed the room as they continued to talk. She picked up a map of the Hinterlands and saw that it was not the only copy of that area, grinning to herself and picked up a nearby quill, she glanced to Lelianna to see that the spymaster was watching her with great interest. 

Cassandra’s voice cut through the tension in the room, “The Breach is stable, but it is still a threat. I will not ignore it.”

Garrick spoke up, frustration evident in his voice, “So we both risk our lives to close the Breach, almost dying in the process, and you still want us to be chained and forgotten about?” He may like that the Chancellor didn’t buy into the whole ‘Herald of Andraste’ bit, which he still had no idea what that meant, but that didn’t mean he agreed with the Chancellor’s methods or plan.

“Yet you both live, a convenient result insofar as you and she are concerned,” Roderick sneered at in Garrick’s direction, completely ignoring Nikki. She was fine with fading into the background and was hopeful that Lelianna and Cassandra would notice and make Garrick Inquisitor instead of her. Two Heralds, two inquisitors. Shaking her head at her thoughts, she didn’t want to be the one to make decisions that ended thousands of lives. I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to keep up my own hygiene, maybe I’ll talk with Solas or Dirthara about it.

“Have a care Chancellor,” Cassandra somehow made disgusted an artform as she glared at the annoying man, “the Breach is not the only threat we face.”

“Someone was behind the explosion at the conclave, someone brought that orb into the Temple of Sacred Ashes, someone most Holy did not expect. Perhaps they died with the others - or have allies who yet live,” Lelianna tore her eyes from watching Nikki and she began to draw on her map of the Hinterlands.

“I am a suspect?” the Chancellor asked of the spymaster incredulously.

“You, and many others,” Lelianna failed to keep the sneer completely out of her voice as she pinned the Chancellor with a glare. Nikki glanced up and saw that with the deep blue hood of her cloak, Lelianna looked terrifying. She looked to be a shadow come to kill them all and Nikki was infinitely glad that Leli was on their side. 

“But the prisoners are not suspects,” the sarcasm dripped from Chancellors Roderick’s voice and Nikki could tell he did not speak sarcastically very often. There was a certain art to sarcasm and he decidedly did not possess that art.

Cassandra spoke up in their defense yet again, “I heard the voices in the temple and saw the vision. They had nothing to do with the Divine’s death and have been helpful from the start.” 

Nikki noticed that Cassandra had left out the parts about Garrick shredding through metal as if it were paper, smart woman, I knew I loved you for a reason Cass! She smiled to herself and continued to mark important places in the Hinterlands that they would look into later.

“So their survival? That thing on his hand? Her markings? All these things are just a coincidence?” the Chancellor asked of the room and yet again Cassandra came to their defense.

“Providence, the maker sent them to us in our darkest hour,” the conviction in her tone caused Garrick and Nikki to shudder at the blind faith that she portrayed. I know she was touched by a spirit of faith and all, but it’s still unnerving to have such powerful faith be directed at you. She immediately wished for Dal to be at her side, but through a quiet conversation with Lelianna she learned that Dal was running off some steam with Cullen. 

Garrick looked at Cassandra like she was crazy, “you realize that’s not what happened, no God, Maker, Bride or what ever sent me here.”

“God works in mysterious ways,” Nikki mumbled to herself, but at such a time that no one else was talking and she nearly groaned as everyone’s attention turned to her. She squeaks at the sudden attention and sits in a nearby chair before going back to her careful drawings on her map. 

Cassandra seemed to take Nikki’s statement and run with it, “No matter what you are, or what you believe. You were exactly what we needed when we needed it, both of you.”

Lelianna eyes Nikki again and speaks up, “The Breach remains and your marks are the only thing we’ve found that has any effect on it, I’m just glad your marks do what we want to the Breach and subsequent rifts.”

Nikki watches as Cassandra leaves the main table and grabs an old tome from a nearby table and slams it down on the center table. Nikki peeks up and sees that it’s the book with the Inquisition symbol on it, her eyes widen and she has a mini fangirl moment in her head. 

“You know what this is Chancellor. A writ from Divine Justinia, granting us the authority to act. As of this moment I declare the Inquisition reborn, “ Cassandra moved away from the book and with each word she said, she took a step into Roderick’s bubble, “We will close the Breach, we will find those responsible, and we will restore order. With or without your approval.”

By the time Cassandra finished her speech, the Chancellor was almost backed up against the door, he quickly fumbled for the handle and left. Nikki noticed that he was very red in the face, whether from embarrassment or anger she didn’t care. 

Lelianna looked down at the tome on the table almost reverently, “this is the Divine’s directive: rebuild the Inquisition of old. Find those who will stand against the chaos. We aren’t ready, we have no leader, no numbers, and now no Chantry support.”

“But we have no choice,” Cassandra admonished, “we must act now, with you both at our side.”

“Hold up, now that Chancellor Roder-dick isn’t here to yell at us, how about we answer a few questions, you know for the guy to literally popped out of the sky for you,” Garrick pulled another chair up to the table and sat down and watched as Lelianna and Cassandra did the same.

“Wait, we should call the other two members of this ‘war council,’ there are things that Cullen and Josephine should hear,” Nikki ducked her head as Lelianna’s swiveled around. Nikki could feel Lelianna’s eyes boring into her skull, maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned Josie. 

“Very well, I will send a runner,” Cassandra got up from her chair and peeked her head out the door and said something to someone outside. She sat back down in her chair and asked of her former prisoners, “What do you two know of our world, I’m assuming you aren’t from here either?” 

Nikki shook her head at the question, “no, I'm not from Thedas. I do know quite a bit about Thedas.”

“From your visions?” Lelianna skeptically spoke to Nikki.

“Never said I had visions, just said I saw things. Never said where I saw them,” Nikki’s face contorted into a grimace, “I think that for origin stories, Garrick and I should wait for Cullen and Josephine, but I can help explain Thedas to Garrick.” 

Not giving anyone else a chance to talk yet, Nikki turned to Garrick and used the maps around her as visual aides, “We are currently here in Ferelden. Ferelden is the name of this country and is currently ruled by King Alistair?” 

Lelianna looked to Nikki in question, “King Alistair and Queen Solona.”

Nikki scrunched her face at a thought, “so Loghain is dead.”

“No he’s alive and serves with the grey wardens,” Lelianna looked at Nikki suspiciously.

“How is that possible? That was never an option, I tried,” Nikki whispered to herself and Garrick looked at her questioningly before she began to speak again, “Grey Wardens are a sect of warriors that are specially trained and altered to fight Darkspawn. Umm, demons without the spirit bit, kind of. Think evil incarnate and take away any motivation, Darkspawn live to kill and spread their taint to the whole world eventually killing everything. Grey Wardens are warriors that are specially catered to fight Darkspawn and Darkspawn leaders called Archdemons.”

The door opened and in walked Josephine and Cullen followed by a recognizable happy bark. As if sensing his master’s presence, Dal rushed forward, barreling into Cullen’s legs and nearly knocking the man on his ass. Nikki set the map she was working on off to the side on the edge of the main table and Lelianna leaned forwards to look at what she had been doing. There were lots of circles with different symbols inside and they were placed sporadically throughout the whole of the Hinterlands.

Nikki leaned back in her chair and Dal climbed up onto her lap and placed his front paws on her shoulder and looked behind her at a wall. The Mabari realized this and used Nikki’s shoulder as a launching board and jumped. He landed on his feet behind her chair and Nikki dramatically flopped to the side that Dal had jumped from. Cullen and Garrick laughed as Dal licked at Nikki’s face to ‘revive’ her and she came ‘alive’ with a roar at Dal and he jumped back from her in play. She smiled at him and got back into her chair and rested her hand on Dal’s head to calm him. 

Cullen smiled at their antics and walked around the table and pulled a chair around for Josephine and pulled a chair next to Nikki’s with Dal between them and he absently pet Dal as well. 

Cassandra spoke up, “Now that everyone is here, introductions,” she turned to Cullen first, “This is Commander Cullen Rutherford, Leader of the Inquisition's forces,” Cullen gave a slight nod of his head, she turned to Josephine, “This is Josephine Montilyet, she’s our ambassador and chief diplomat,” Josephine gave a nod at her introduction and Cassandra turned to Lelianna.

“My job requires an element of-”

“She is our spymaster,” Cassandra interrupted Lelianna’s interruption.

“Yes, tactfully put Cassandra,” Nikki loved seeing their banter back and forth, it spoke of years of familiarity between the two.

“Now that we all know each other, I suppose it’s my turn for story time, pity I was looking forward to hearing about the Archdemons,” Garrick sighed dramatically, “I’m called Garrick Kairason, most just call me Garrick or ‘monster.’ I came here from a country called the World Wound, in my world this is a place where demons and devils pour out of our demon world and is only kept in check by Paladins and warriors such as myself.”

Cullen interrupts his tale with growing horror, “so this is what your world looks like constantly?” 

“Only around the World Wound and the Mana Wastes,” Nikki spoke up from her seat and Garrick eyed her curiously, where could she be from that would allow her knowledge of all the worlds involved in this mess? “The demons and devils from his world are vastly different from the ones here, the ones there still try to corrupt mortals and lead them down the path of corruption and blah, blah, blah, but the demons and devils of his world don’t need to possess anything to interact with the real world.” 

Everyone in the room turned to her and stared at her, she began to feel uncomfortable under the weight of their stares, she rubbed at Dal’s ears to try and comfort herself as she continued, “The world Garrick is from is full of Heroes all over and magic is only feared because of the intent of the caster, there’s no threat of possession like there is here. There’s still possession, but not like here. In fact travel to other universes isn’t all that unheard of where Garrick’s from.”

Garrick let out a throaty laugh, “yeah, I remember this one wizard, Bob, who liked pink and fucking with people.”

Nikki started at his statement, I’m positive I never ran through Bob’s Tower with my DM with Garrick, that was Kaira or was it Clara? I know it wasn’t Garrick. I wonder what else has differentiated from my campaigns for him, first going to the World Wound instead of Numeria and now he’s talking about Bob’s Tower? Nikki makes a mental note to prod Garrick for more stories from his homeworld. 

“What about you, Lady Herald?” Lelianna’s eyes bore into Nikki’s and she takes a steadying breath before talking.

“Before I tell you about my world, know that I am going to hold information back, it’s not out of any malicious intent. It’s because usually I can’t find the words at the time to describe what I'm trying to convey, but there will be some things I’ll keep to myself because I’ve only just landed here myself,” she pulls Dal’s head against her leg and rubs at his head, “to start with, I’m obviously not from Thedas, or from Golarion.”

Garrick looks at her curiously at the mention of the second place, “Golarion is the name of the planet you are from!” Garrick’s mouth makes a small ‘o’ and his head ducks down in embarrassment.

“Anyway, I’m from a place called Earth and on Earth these places; Golarion, Thedas, they’re all made up places for people to imagine themselves in to escape their mundane lives,” Nikki’s eyes move to stare at the table as she seems to debate with herself, “Earth is very different than either of these places. 

“For example you saw how easily Garrick took to fighting, Golarion is actually pretty similar to Thedas as far as technology and sociology goes. I’ve never actually seen anyone die right in front of me before, at least before our assault on the Breach. I’ve never held a sword except in practice and that was more for meditative practices than practical ones and even then I think it was a foam sword,” Nikki grimaced at their horrified expressions.

“You’ve never had to fight?” Cullen asks her incredulously.

Nikki shakes her head and continues, “on Earth warfare is very different and where I lived it wasn’t a common occurrence to see war of any kind on our soil. All the war that had taken place in my lifetime was across a giant ocean and we sent soldiers across it to fight. War was always this far away thing that was never in anyone’s face, my face, until I came here.”

“That explains some reactions,” Cassandra comments

Nikki smiles at her, “as for how I know the things I know, well like I said Golarion and Thedas are fictional places that people have the option to read about and there are thousands of different stories and pathways that each story could take. For example I wasn’t sure who was the King and Queen here because in another story Alistair was King with Anora as his Queen. There’s another story where Anora rules as Queen by herself and Alistair stays with the Grey Wardens.”

Lelianna swallowed nervously at the ideas of her friends not ruling Ferelden, “There’s a version of this story where Hawke kills Anders after he blows up the Chantry in Kirkwall. There’s a version where Hawke and Anders ride off into the sunset as lovers. There’s a version where Lelianna and the Hero of Ferelden are lovers. There’s another where Hawke is a blood mage and the Hero of Ferelden kills Lelianna. That’s why I don’t want to give out too much information that I know.” Nikki looks to the faces of those present and lets her words sink in.

“I don’t want to give too much information and have the worst possible outcome happen, it’s a very real thing and i’ve seen it,” Cassandra placed a hand on Nikki’s which was grasping the table in a death grip.

“Okay, Nikki,” Cassandra spoke to her gently, the game had never really shown this side of Cassandra this early on in the game. Nikki took a steadying breath and looked to Cassandra in gratitude, “I’ve had experience with other seers in my life, it seems there is a fear of messing up the future with all seers.”

“I will however help with all the knowledge that I do know, to the best of my ability,” Nikki spoke with such conviction that Cassandra smiled encouragingly at her. Lelianna however looked as if she was ready for murder.

“How can what you say be true?”

“Leliana-” Nikki interrupts Cassandra’s statement with her own.

“When you first met the Hero of Ferelden, you intervened on her behalf against some of Loghain’s men and helped them fight them off. Then you kind of invited yourself into her group because, and I quote, ‘The maker told me to’,” Nikki smiled at Lelianna as she blushed, “I know you aren’t ashamed of your faith, you are ashamed of how your statement made you look, makes you look now. You are a different person than you were then, I remember that you constantly were singing songs around their campfire and they called you Nightingale because your voice was as sweet as one.”

Cullen, Josephine, and Cassandra pursed their lips to keep from laughing, Garrick held no such restraint and guffawed loudly and actually fell out of his chair, turning Lelianna’s attention to him. She narrowed her eyes at him and Nikki knew that he would pay for it later, she just hoped she was around to see it. 

“So what can you tell us Lady Herald,” Josephine sat at the ready with her medieval clipboard. 

“After she answers your question, I want to know about this ‘Herald’ business,” Garrick interjects.

Josephine nods in his direction before nodding at Nikki to speak, “Well, I know a fair chunk of the history of this world, and future events.” She says the last three words so quickly that if they hadn’t been paying attention to her every word, then they would have missed it.

“What do you mean future events,” Cullen, ever the face of bravery, asks of her.

“Everything, at least up the decision to disband or keep the Inquisition alive,” Nikki was having trouble to remain vague enough not to give anything away, but to give them enough information to believe her, the past was easy it had already happened and there wasn’t anything Nikki could do to change it, the future wasn’t so easy. 

“So do you know what happened at the conclave?” Cassandra asks hopefully.

“Yes, and no I can’t tell you what happened. For one you won’t believe me no matter how many examples I give you or how many reasons why it happened the way it did, this is something you guys are going to have to discover on your own, I’m sorry,” Nikki appeared visibly sick as she said this and Cassandra sat back in her chair disappointed. 

“So is there anything you can tell us that will help us right now?” Lelianna speaks a little more gently to the woman who seems to know all her secrets.

“Not at the moment, you know this is only the first day that the Inquisition exists, as events unfold, I’ll be sure to let you know what I can,” Nikki nods at Lelianna and turns her attention to Cassandra, “Cassandra, since I have next to no experience fighting, would you be willing to help train me?”

“Of course, the Commander and I would be honored to teach you,” Cassandra nodded at her, Cullen was used to being volun-told to do things. Of course, he was happy for the honor of training a Herald of Andraste, but it would have been nice to have been asked instead of told.

“So now that she’s answered your questions, how about mine. What’s with all this ‘Herald of Andraste’ business?”

Lelianna explained, “That is the people’s doing.” 

“And you’ve done nothing to contradict that,” Nikki looks accusingly at everyone at the table. Everyone except for Garrick bows their head thoroughly chastised and she looked at them all in shock, Chancellor Roderick she had yelled at and he looked like that, she had just mildly chastised them in jest and they all looked like they disappointed their mom. 

“No, we thought to use the fame to our advantage,” Josephine explained quietly.

Garrick looks around the table, “well, what are our options right now?”

That seemed to break the non-spell that held the advisors in place and the four advisors began to plan and inevitably an argument broke out between the four of them about something or the other, Nikki had stopped paying attention all together and was trying to remember everything that she knew about the Hinterlands. 

After a while she reached a point in her map-marking that she knew there was more to put on the map, but she couldn’t think of it right at that moment, looking up she saw that everyone was standing and shouting at each other. They were shouting so loudly she had to cover her ears once her focus shifted from the map to the advisors. Placing two fingers into her mouth she blew, hard, and created a loud high-pitched whistle that simultaneously made them all stop arguing and turned their attention to her.

“First off, Garrick needs armor and weapons, I’m assuming Harrit is working on them,” at Cassandra’s nod she continued, “next we need a training regimen for the new recruits that will come flocking to Haven to be a part of the Inquisition. Cullen, Cassandra, you two work together to come up with a training schedule for the soldiers and for me to train, please limit my training to the before noon hours.”

Nikki knew that the advisors couldn’t function properly without a voice of reason and she should have known better than to leave that to Garrick, he was just like them. Hotheaded, powerful, damn near a one man army unto themselves, and all thinking they had the right idea. Garrick was advocating the use of mercenary companies to bolster their numbers quicker, Cullen wanted an aggressive recruitment campaign, Josephine shot both of those down with their lack of allies and supplies.

“Lelianna and Josephine, you two work together and gain us some allies, surely there’s someone on this rock that cares if they live or die,” Nikki waved off their arguments and began to leave, “if that is all, Garrick and I need to rest, we’ve had a stressful couple of days.”

Everyone nodded at her and she left with Dal and Garrick flanking her, “thanks for that, we probably would have been arguing for days if you hadn’t said anything.”

“That’s me, Nikki. The voice of reason,” by the end of her sentence she had a sour look on her face which caused Garrick to go into another fit of laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 75752 words; 173 pages; returned from Val Royeaux and have met Dorian.


	7. Chapter 7

Nikki stopped in front of what was Josephine’s office in game, but knowing things got lost in translation, she waited with Garrick until Josephine and Lelianna left the war room.

“Heralds,” Josephine greets them with a nod.

“We need a public announcement of our origins, for now we should simply say that Garrick and I are a traveling pair from beyond the Anderfels,” Nikki supplied for them succinctly. 

Josephine and Lelianna talk in hushed whispers for a moment, both hovering over whatever it was that Josephine was writing down. Finally they looked up and Josephine handed them each a piece of paper. 

Garrick glared down at his paper before Nikki snatched it up and read them both to herself, she then read the announcements aloud to Garrick so he could have an opinion on them too. Garrick looked at her as if he didn’t know what to think of her yet and she explained to the two women that he couldn’t read.

“We could find a tutor for you, there are Chantry sisters who-”

Garrick cut off Josephine’s offer for him to learn to read, “no, I chose this path, no reading.”

Her curiosity piqued, Lelianna speaks up, “What path? What do you mean? What does that have to do with reading?”

Nikki smiled knowingly, “Barbarians of his world can’t read, umm, think of Reavers here, but more badass. He learns to read and all of his barbarian abilities will go away, maybe not all at once, but he’ll lose them.”

“What kind of abilities do you have?”

Garrick takes a breath before speaking, “I can enter a sort of Rage, and while in that Rage I can usually tell friend from foe. I get a boost in strength, and there are a number of other abilities I gain while in Rage.” 

Nikki was quite curious, while she may have created Garrick and made him a Barbarian, she had no idea what it took to become a Barbarian or how they dealt with the ‘no reading’ requirement of Barbarians. Shit, are they going to be reluctant to make him Inquisitor because of this? Maker, I hope not. Nikki worries to herself as she listens to Garrick explain more detail about how he became a Barbarian and what training he had to go through, which was essentially survive in the jungle for a month and let your rage consume you. 

After their encounter with Lelianna and Josephine, the Heralds left the Chantry and Nikki began to make her way to the cabin they had woken up in. Josephine had mentioned that the cabin would become theirs and if they had any qualms about sharing, then other arrangements could be made to accommodate. Nikki had no problems with it and found it comforting that she would not have to hide her ‘other worldliness’ from the general populace in the ‘after-hours’ time of the day. 

The two Heralds were free for the rest of the day and Nikki knew that would be a rare occurrence in the coming months. She encouraged him to explore Haven and hand out at the tavern.

“But then who would keep you company?” He had asked her silkily. 

Nikki shook her head at him and laughed, “alright, Lord Herald of Andraste. Let's go check out the frozen pond.”

They left through the gates of Haven and made their way over the short distance to the frozen pond. Garrick had never actually seen any body of water completely frozen over and found it fascinating that he could stand on the frozen pond. Nikki stood on the dock and watched as Dal and Garrick chased each other in the snow and on the pond. She laughed at them as Dal shoved Garrick into a snowbank on the edge of the pond, but couldn’t control his own momentum and Dal ended up in a snowbank on the other side. 

Drawn to the sound of laughter and play, Varric and Solas walked up and stood with Nikki on the dock. Solas saw Nikki pull her cloak tighter around herself to combat the cold and he subtly moved his hand up to the back of her neck, his magic causing his hand to glow minutely. Instant warmth spread through Nikki at the feeling of his hand on the back of her neck. She looked to him questioningly and he raised an eyebrow in silent challenge. Nikki sighs and smiles gratefully at him, their silent conversation went unnoticed by Varric who had been roped into playing in the snow by Dal suddenly coming up and grabbing him by his coat and dragging him out to the snow.

Solas and Nikki watched them for a moment before Solas turns to her, “How are you?”

Nikki doesn’t turn to look at him, “The Breach is calm and so are our markings, so right now I'm doing okay, I guess.”

Solas nodded in understanding and his brow furrowed, “What does it feel like when you close a rift, I noticed that our Lord Herald doesn’t seem to have any, issues,” Solas fidgets with the hem of his tunic so as to avoid looking at her, Nikki looks curiously at him. Why is he so nervous around me? It can’t just be the seer thing, I wonder what is going through his head. 

“It feels like my body is being ripped apart and stitched back together, it feels like that when Garrick closes the rifts, but for whatever reason it’s so much more intense for me when I close the rifts myself. When I close the rifts myself it’s like I’m reconnecting to the Fade all over again, I feel the entirety of the Fade when I close rifts,” Nikki looked over at the snow covered males and smiles before taking a deep breath.

“Alright boys, that’s enough. Let’s go to the Tavern and warm up so y’all don’t get sick,” she calls out to them.

Garrick groans, “Aw man, come one just a little longer?”

“No, it’s starting to get dark out and then we won’t find your pale ass in the snow,” Nikki taunts back.

“Fine mom,” Garrick taunts at her and Nikki bursts out laughing. Garrick didn’t think his joke was funny enough to warrant a full belly roll that caused Nikki to grab onto Solas for support. He took comfort in the fact that Solas and Varric looked just as confused as he was.

“Sorry, you have no idea how funny that is to me,” she wipes a tear from her eye and turns to lead the group to the Tavern. Dal made sure that everyone followed her and actually nommed onto Solas’ hand when he didn’t turn to follow her. 

The group entered the tavern and they all sighed in content at the warmth that came with opening the door. Dal followed them inside and the barkeep behind her bar eyed the Mabari warily, she had heard that one of the Heralds had a Mabari companion. Nikki noticed that Flissa didn’t want Dal in her establishment, but didn’t want the negativity that would come with asking the Herald’s Mabari to leave. Looking around Nikki noticed the elven servant that had greeted Garrick and her when they had woken up. Nikki had never caught the servant’s name and made her way over to the elven woman. 

“I never caught your name when you ran out on us this morning,” Nikki kept her tone light and teasing, trying to set the relationship away from Herald and servant and towards person talking to person.

“Apologies My Lady Herald,” despite her jovial manner, the servant still trembled as if she were going to lash out at her, “My name is Varini.”

“You may call me Nikki,” Varini looked at Nikki as if she didn’t like the idea of being so informal with such a public figurehead and Nikki conceded, “Lady Nikki?”

Slowly Varini nodded in acceptance, “Could you do me a huge favor Varini?”

Varini looked wary at the request of a favor rather than an outright order, but nodded her consent. Nikki flashed her a smile and asked that she walk Dal back to her cabin, Varini looked relieved at such a simple request and nodded her agreement enthusiastically. Dal had made friends while she had been unconscious, Nikki watched as Dal greeted Varini enthusiastically and sniffed at her hands. Nikki chuckled as Varini looked back at her with trepidation, it was obvious that Varini had bribed Dal’s affection while Nikki had been out of commision. 

Solas sat next to her after her conversation and they waited for Varric to talk to Flissa. He wondered at the diminutive woman next to him. She strove to make everyone around her feel as if they were her equal, she didn’t view herself above anyone, in fact she seemed to want to serve everyone so that they were happy and comfortable. Nikki seemed to be the type of person to not put her own safety above anyone else's. Despite her predisposition for panic attacks, she looked after other’s comfort more than her own as evident by her sending Dal back to her cabin with someone else. She set his nerves on edge, no one was as selfless as she seemed to be, yet he had no evidence to the contrary and then there was the feeling that he knew her from somewhere.

Nikki laughed at something that Varric had said, the dwarf always had a story to entertain those around him. Solas turned his attention back to the group that he had surrounded himself with to hear that they were discussing the Champion of Kirkwall.

“Wait, so you’re telling me that Hawke, a mage, actually faced off against the Arishok and basically spent the entire time running around the room and used her magic from a distance on him?” Nikki guffawed as Garrick pestered Varric for more details about the battle.

Nikki couldn’t seem to stop laughing at the imagery, Solas smiled at her unbridled joy, “swear to Andraste, Fenris told the Arishok that Hawke could take him any day of the week and he accepted the challenge that Fenris had issued on her behalf.” 

Nikki finally managed to get herself under control as their food and drink arrived, Solas watched as she sniffed at the mug of ale that the dwarf had ordered for her.She took a sip and made pulled a face that spoke of her dislike for the beverage. Nikki rose with the mug in her hand and went to talk to Flissa. 

Solas turned to Garrick, “How are you? How does the mark on your hand fare?”

Garrick glanced down at it, “Honestly? The thing creeps me out, if I wanted to do magic, then I would have studied with wizards or with my mother.”

“Your mother is a mage?” Solas was curious for any information of the new Heralds.

“One of my mothers is a cleric,” Garrick looked thoughtful for a moment, “she used her magic to heal people and protect them.”

“Clara is a wonderful woman,” Nikki returned and gave Garrick what seemed to be a warning look, “she got Kaira out of a lot of shit.”

Garrick looked at Nikki warily for the first time that night, “You know my mothers?”

Nikki took a drink of her new beverage, it smelled like stronger alcohol and Solas raised his eyebrow at her, she shrugged, “don’t like the ale, asked for whiskey.”

She turned her attention back to Garrick and spoke cryptically, “You could say I know of your mothers, I’ve never actually had the pleasure to meet them. We can talk more on the matter in a more private setting.”

Varric, smelling a story, brought out a journal and picked up the quill placed inside and began to make notes. Nikki grimaced and wondered how things would play out, would Varric pick up on the Heralds not being from this world sooner than she was ready to tell the inner circle? Nikki stared into her drink as she thought and planned, turning to Solas for a change in subject.

“Any theories on how to close the Breach in the sky?”

“I theorize that with enough power and your marks working together, we would be able to close the Breach. It would have to require the same level of power that was used to open the Breach in the first place,” Solas went into teacher mode as he and Nikki discussed the magical theory and left Varric and Garrick in their conversation about the creatures of this world.

“You’ve seriously never seen a nug?” Varric asks him suspiciously, “I would ask if you’ve been living under a rock, but nugs live there too.”

“I just can’t believe that you’ve never seen a goblin before,” Garrick laughed back at Varric, “I guess you could call them our nugs, but they do have a modicum of intelligence. I remember one time that my group at the time and I went into a cave and just waylaid an entire village of goblins, every now and then I’d pick up one that froze at the sight of me and just tied it onto my belt.” 

Nikki’s attention suddenly swerved to Garrick, her eyes wide. That was just a one shot for fun, it wasn’t a part of any campaign, but he also mentioned Bob’s tower and I never ran that starter campaign with him.

“To this day our healer swears one saw me and dropped his weapon and held his head. This goblin suddenly sprang to his feet and shouted as he ran, ‘What the Fuck? I can’t take this anymore.’ Before the goblin could leave the cave though he exploded, the healer looked to our mage and the mage was too far away to have done anything.”

“You’re telling me that a tiny, green, humanoid creature with pointed ears spontaneously combusted at the sight of you?” Solas’ disbelief evident on his face until Nikki burst into laughter. 

“Oh my God, not only that, but you caused a goblin to be able to read,” Nikki told Garrick seriously in between her laughter.

“Wait, you saw this happen,” Garrick’s eyes wide in shock, he wondered what all she had seen of him and his world.

“Yeah, one of the goblins was shocked so much that he learned to read and became the first goblin wizard,” Nikki was still attempting to control her giggles.

Garrick blanched at the idea, “I thought that was just a stupid rumor going around. Bet you ten to one he focuses on fire magic.”

“Oh, he most definitely did. He ended up uniting the goblin tribes by blowing up their leaders one by one,” Nikki gained a far away look as if she were remembering something, “I think he ended up experimenting wrong and sending himself somewhere in time then doing the whole thing over again till he realized that goblins are stupid.”

“How long did it take him to realize this?” Garrick laughed at what had befallen the first and apparently only goblin wizard ever.

“I think four or five times, he may be a wizard but he isn’t a smart one,” Nikki swayed as she took another drink. Solas eyed her warily offered to walk Nikki back to her cabin for the night. Nikki nodded her consent and bid Garrick and Varric a good night hug to each. 

Solas walked her back to her cabin as she swayed to the melody that was pouring out of the open tavern door. He smiled at her with the patience of a saint in her eyes at that moment for she couldn’t for the life of her figure out how to walk apparently.

“Fenedhis, that ale is stronger than I'm used to,” Nikki slurred to Solas as he opened the door to her cabin.

Solas chuckled at her and helped her onto the bed that held a sleeping dog. He blinked at the elf helping his master to sit on her bed when all she wanted to do was lay on top of her dog. He finally convinced her to sit up and her hair fell in front of her face, she pulled it behind her ear and as soon as her ear touched her ear she froze. Why are my ears pointed? They weren’t pointed this morning, were they? God damnit, I need to get Solas out of here so I can freak out fuck. Her breathing had begun to quicken and Solas noticed her distress.

“Da’len, what’s wrong?” he looked into her eyes and she swallowed nervously.

She said the first thing that came to her mind, “My ears are pointed Solas.” Shit, damn you alcohol.

“Were they not always pointed?” Solas seemed amused at her revelation.

“No, it’s not that. I just notice them when I’m drunk,” the lie seemed weak even to her drunken ears. Solas raised a regal eyebrow at her and helped to tuck her into her bed, she snuggled into the blanket that had been warmed by Dal and he curled into her side with a sigh. 

“Sleep well Da’len,” Solas raised his head and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. She took a deep breath and decided to worry about her physical changes tomorrow. Solas rose from leaning over her and walked quietly out of the cabin. As soon as he left her cabin, he looked at the ground pensively, why was he acting this way around her? What was with this connection to her, this need to protect and teach her, to trust her? Dare he trust her, he had only just met her today and if the rumors were true then she was a seer and more than likely knew about him already, but she hadn’t confronted him about it. Maybe she didn’t know about him after all. Solas continued to stare at the ground in front of him until his feet led him to his cabin and he laid down for the night, intent on searching the fade for his drunken protégé.

Nikki awoke the next day with a pounding headache, not all of it from the alcohol consumption the night before. Solas had seen fit to have another lesson of magic in the Fade last night and there was a lot of information swirling around her head. She looked to the other side of the room to see Garrick flopped over his bed and snoring loudly. Nikki smiled to herself at him and moved to get herself ready for the day, she found a wash basin and some rags near it. She looked at the empty basin when an idea popped into her head. 

Closing her eyes, she extended her will to the basin and imagined it full of warm water, seeing the water in her mind's eye filling the basin, she came back to reality when she hear water slosh onto the floor. Her eyes opened to see the wash basin filled to the brim with steaming water, doing a silent happy dance she grabbed a wash rag and wet it. Stripping down to her smalls, she did a quick rinse with the rag and got as much dirt off of her as she could. Once the first round of rinsing was done she looked around and saw what appeared to be soap near the basin. 

She reached for the soap and out of the corner of her eye she saw Garrick sitting up groggily. Yawning he spoke to her casually, “first thing you do is wash yourself? Wouldn’t it make more sense to do that at the end of the day?”

Blushing she replied, “well I was too drunk to do this last night and I’m supposed to start training with Cassandra today, I’d rather stave off my own BO for as long as I can.”

“B.O.?”

“Body Odor,” Nikki washed herself as quickly as she could, she knew Garrick wasn’t the type to ogle her, and she knew that for him it would have been commonplace to see half naked women bathing themselves, especially growing up in a church of Calistria. While she was confident that she had a good looking body, that didn’t mean she wanted to flaunt her nakedness around for all to see. As quickly as she could she got dressed in leggings and a tunic as well as an overcoat to stave off the cold. She was leaving the cabin just as Garrick was literally rolling off his bed and crawling to his clothes that were nearby. She rolled her eyes at him and chuckled to herself as she walked towards the gates of Haven.

Nikki spent the majority of the morning falling onto her ass, getting flipped and pinned as Cassandra didn’t pull her punches and thus Nikki ended up bruised and battered as she made her way to the tavern for lunch. Groaning as she slumped into the nearest chair she could reach, Flissa walked up and let her know what was available for lunch that day. When Flissa returned with food for Nikki, Varric had found her and was sitting with the resident seer.

“Have fun this morning, Tama,” he spoke casually as he sat himself down at her table.

“Tama?” Nikki raised her eyebrow at him.

“Well, Giggles didn’t seem to quite fit. After yesterday it kind of came to me, Tama. As in Qunari Tamassrans,” Nikki began laughing at his explanation.

“You have no idea how well that fits me,” Varric smiled at her statement.

“I knew you’d know what it meant,” Varrick seemed to be very happy with himself and shouted towards the door, “I win, Ghost. Tama knew what it meant.”

“Damnit,” Garrick’s shout of frustration could be heard clearly from the door of the tavern as he walked in. He sat next to Varric at Nikki’s table and handed him a gold piece.

“How’d you get money already?” Nikki asked him.

“Last night, some soldiers thought they could beat my strength,” Garrick grinned as if he were immensely proud of himself.

“Those poor soldiers,” Nikki giggled at the image of soldier after soldier attempting to beat their Lord Herald in arm wrestling.

The three were quickly becoming fast friends and they spend the rest of the lunch hour laughing at each other and telling stories of their past, Nikki mostly listened and watched the entire tavern. Flissa had been running herself ragged and when Nikki finally had regained enough energy to do so, she got up to help Flissa fill tankards and clear empty plates off the tables. When the lunch hour was done, Nikki continued to help Flissa to clean the tavern and they spent another hour talking and Nikki ended up telling her about Fireball from back home.

“I’m telling you, it’s the most delicious whiskey ever,” Nikki was trying to convince Flissa to try her hand at making some when Solas walked into the tavern. His eyes scanned the tavern and landed on Nikki. She smiled sheepishly at the Dread Wolf and rubbed the back of her neck in a nervous gesture.

“Da’len, we were supposed to meet ten minutes ago,” he admonished.

“Ir abelas Hahren, I got distracted helping Flissa around the tavern,” Nikki looked chastised before an idea occurred to her, “Oh, this morning I used magic to fill my water basin with warm water and it actually went as planned, mostly.”

Her brilliant smile at her first completely successful use of magic filled him with pride, “be that as it may, you still require more practical hours, hence why we were supposed to meet ten minutes ago.”

“Yes, Hahren, bye Flissa. Let me know what you come up with,” Nikki bounced off after Solas as he turned to leave and Flissa smiled brightly at her new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahren means respected elder essentially.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemon is outlined by *** before and after.

Hours of spending time with Solas, she flopped onto her bed exhausted and she looked to the other side of the cabin to see that Garrick had not yet returned, she felt so tired she debated whether or not she had the energy to clean herself up. Dal made her decision when he sniffed at her and whined at her smell. Rolling her eyes she forced herself up off her bed and back to the water basin, she closed her eyes and focused on the water basin. It was easier than it was this morning to fill the small basin, but she still struggled and it still overflowed a little. She growled at the basin and began to clean herself angrily.

Garrick walked in during her angry bath and looked at her in confusion, “bad lesson with Solas?”

“No, I can’t get a grip on my magic, there seems to always be just a little too much, ugh.”

“Maybe you just need some more practice,” Garrick offered helpfully.

“Yeah, maybe,” with that she emptied out the basin and practiced filling it up again so that Garrick could wash up. Garrick had to fight not to laugh when the basin overflowed again, he lost the fight when she began to curse at the water basin as she mopped up the water that had landed on the floor. She had been so happy that morning that she hadn’t noticed that the water had overflowed then too. She saw the water stains now.

Before she knew it a week had passed by through her exhausting routine of training with Cassandra, still ending up on her ass more often than not, in the morning. Her lunch and afternoon hours were spent with Flissa. Her evenings were spent with Solas practicing her magic, she was too tired at the end of the day to do anything more than wash the day’s gunk off of her. Garrick had commented on it and after she explained the health reasons for doing so he started washing himself every day too. 

After Nikki’s first week in Thedas she was woken up by a pounding on the door of the cabin that she still shared with Garrick. She was okay with sharing a cabin with Garrick and they had gotten to know each other better through talking across the cabin until they fell asleep, Nikki usually falling asleep first. Garrick rose before her and opened the door to reveal a soldier handing Garrick a message. Garrick turned back into the cabin and handed Nikki the message, “the war council wants to see us to discuss what us ‘Heralds’ can do for the Inquisition. Well it’s about damn time.”

He laughed at her as he got ready for the day, he tapped the water basin. His signal to Nikki that he wanted to wash, Nikki waved a hand in the direction of the basin and it filled with warm water. As well as the last week had been for her control of magic, it was equally horrible for her combat training with Cassandra. 

“Well, we don’t want to keep the Storm waiting,” Garrick had been calling Cassandra the Storm ever since he had watched one of Nikki’s sessions, Varric agreed it was a good nickname but refused to call her anything but Seeker.

They made their way up to the Chantry, Nikki trying again to explain political climate of Thedas, “Empress Celine is fighting with her cousin Gaspard because they both have a claim to the throne of Orlais.”

“But there’s a King for Ferelden and we are currently in Ferelden, why should we be worried about a civil war across the mountains?” 

“Because, Orlais stands between Ferelden and Tevinter, and Tevinter is between us as the Qunari.”

“What does all of that have to do with anything?”

“If Orlais continues this civil war for too much longer, like five years, then Tevinter could get tired of the fighting to the south and try to reclaim Orlais.”

“Reclaim?”

“A long time ago all of Orlais and Ferelden used to be a part of the Tevinter Imperium, there was a huge rebellion and Orlais and Ferelden broke away and became their own entities.”

Garrick hummed thoughtfully as they opened the doors to the Chantry and were greeted by Cassandra, “Good Morning Heralds, how did you sleep?”  
“I’d sleep better if my butt weren’t so bruised,” Nikki jibed at Cassandra.

“Your posterior would be less bruised if you paid attention,” Cass admonished.

“I do pay attention, I just pay attention to everything around me, not just my opponent,” Nikki pouted at her teacher. Cassandra rolled her eyes at her pupil, they had had this discussion before and Cassandra had been trying everything she knew to help Nikki to focus on the battle at hand, but the girl was hopeless. 

Turning to Garrick Cassandra began a new conversation, “The mark, does it trouble you?”

“Not really, I’ve heard weirder stories happening to my parents,” Garrick shrugged and glanced down at his left hand.

Cassandra nodded, “What’s important is that your marks are stable, as is the Breach. You’ve given us time, and Solas believes a second attempt might succeed, provided the marks have more power. The same level of power used to open the Breach in the first place.”

“Yeah, what harm could there be in powering up something we barely understand, sure Solas has had a week to study it, but he’s no closer to understanding it than I am understanding Orlesian politics, Ferelden policies seem to make sense at least.”

Nikki giggled as Cassandra responded, “Hold on to that sense of humor, you’re going to need it.”

Cassandra opened the door and led the two Heralds into the War Room where the trifecta was already in full swing of an argument, “We need power to close the Breach, we must approach the rebel mages for help.”

“I still disagree,” Cullen responded to Lelianna’s statement, “The templars could serve just as well.”

Nikki edged her way along the wall towards the maps on the table along the far wall. She eyed the map of the Hinterlands that she had marked a week ago and continued with her markings as the other five people argued. 

“We need power Commander. Enough magic poured into those marks-”

“Might destroy us all,” Cullen calmly interrupted Cassandra, “Templars could suppress the Breach, weaken it so-”

“Pure speculation,” Lelianna interrupted Cullen’s statement to support Cassandra’s argument.

“I was a templar, I know what they’re capable of,” Cullen remained steadfast against turning to the mages for help.

“Unfortunately, neither group will even speak to us yet, the chantry has denounced the Inquisition and you two specifically,” Josephine, ever the voice of practicality, spoke up before the debate could begin anew.

“Why would the Chantry be bothered with us? Surely they don’t still think that we had anything to do with the explosion at the conclave?” Garrick wondered at the stupidity of people in large groups when faced with the apparent end of the world.

“That is not the entirety of it,” Josephine grimaced, “some are calling you two the Heralds of Andraste. This frightens the Chantry.”

“And of course none of you have done anything to stop or change these rumors,” Nikki spoke up for the first time, causing Cullen and Josie to look sheepish while Lelianna merely raised an eyebrow at Nikki’s sudden observation.

Josephine continued speaking with less confidence than before, “the remaining clerics have declared it blasphemy, and we heretics for harboring you.”

“Chancellor Roderick’s doing, no doubt,” Cassandra rolled her eyes in disgust.

“Chancellor Roderick’s doing or not, what’s done is done and we can’t retaliate without making the Inquisition look like a tyrannical bully,” Nikki sighs into a nearby chair and wonders how the others in the room can stay standing for so long. Then again they’ve all had more training than me, I’ll bet even Josie could kick my ass in combat. Nikki grumbled to herself quietly as she thought of how woefully unprepared she was to live in this world.

Sure, Nikki had spent a couple years learning self-defense and martial arts, she could wield a sword without cutting herself, but even Josephine was leaps and bounds ahead of her skill. At that moment she wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and wallow in her self misery. She took a breath to steady herself and brought her attention back to the war council meeting. 

“It limits our options, approaching the mages or the templars for help is currently out of the question,” Josephine informed the group.

“But shouldn’t they be concerned about the Breach? You know the giant gaping hole in the sky above our heads?” Nikki smiled at Garrick’s outburst of indignation.

“They all know it’s a threat, they just don’t think we can do anything about it,” Cullen sighed dejectedly.

“The chantry is telling everyone you two will just make things worse,” Josephine explained to Garrick.

“There is something you can do to help,” Lelianna began brightly, “A chantry cleric by the name of Mother Giselle has asked to speak to you. She is not far and knows those involved far better than I. Her assistance could be invaluable.”

“I hope you aren’t planning on me going with Garrick to the Hinterlands,” Nikki commented, “As i’m sure Cassandra can tell you all I’m abysmal with combat still. My magic is getting better, but i’m still a far ways off from being of any use in battle other than my barriers that hurt me. I’m sure that Lelianna has noticed that I’ve been making marks on your map of the Hinterlands. I’ve been marking key points on the map that Garrick can visit, such as Rift locations as well as where the rogue templars and mages of the area have set up camp.”

“You’ve had visions?” Lelianna asked of her curiously.

“Like I told Cassandra, I know things, the Hinterlands have been accosted by the templars and mages in the area. Templars have taken to attacking and killing anyone they think may be an apostate, without any warning or trial. The people are freezing and hungry,” Nikki pointed to five areas on the map, “the apostates have hidden caches of supplies in these areas.”

Nikki went over her markings on the map of the Hinterlands with Cassandra and Lelianna turned to Garrick, “Since the plan is to have Nikki stay here to continue her training, Garrick there is something I would appreciate you looking into.”

Garrick turned his attention to the spymaster, “What can I do?”

“Several months ago the Grey Wardens of Ferelden vanished. I sent word to those in Orlais, but they have also disappeared. Ordinarily I would not even consider the idea that they were involved in all this, but the timing is curious.

“Hmm, adored public figure gets murdered and a large sect of warriors that are not bound by any oversight disappears, I agree it seems suspicious,” Garrick may have been born a mindless animal but his intelligence is Divinely blessed, it makes sense he would follow Lelianna’s line of logic.

“Two days ago my agents that I sent to the Hinterlands to scout sent news of a Grey Warden by the name of Blackwall. If the opportunity presents itself, please seek him out. Perhaps he can put my mind at ease.”

Nikki glanced away from her explanation of the Hinterlands to interject on Garrick and Lelianna’s discussion, “And if he can’t.”

Lelianna turned to Nikki, “then there may be more going on than we thought. Have you seen anything pertaining to this?”

“Yes, but I can’t tell you. If I tell you all I know, then things may change in ways no one would want. I’m sorry but you’ll just have to trust me on this. I will tell you not to get your hopes up about Blackwall answering all your questions concerning the Grey Wardens.”

Lelianna narrowed her eyes suspiciously but seemed to accept the answer, “So then should I still seek out this Blackwall?” 

“Yes, he will become a valuable ally,” Nikki responded to Garrick’s question.

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” Garrick rubbed his hands together in excitement, Nikki smiled at his enthusiasm,

“Well first off, I need to tell you a few more things about the area, the gates to Redcliff will be closed while the Hinterlands are in such turmoil,” Nikki moved to the upper right corner of the map, “over here is a good place to make an Inquisition camp and just north of that is a cave that leads to a Dragon. No, Garrick don’t even think about it.”

Garrick could not help the glee that had taken over his face at the mention of a dragon in the area, he began pouting at Nikki’s denial of his ‘fun.’ Nikki shook her head at Garrick and absent mindedly brought the quill in her hand up to her mouth. Josephine looked in horror and the rest of the group had a hard time fighting their laughter at the sour look Nikki gave the quill. 

By the time their meeting was done Nikki was fighting a headache from the amount of information she had brought forth from her mind. They left the war room and Nikki had the feeling she was forgetting something, this feeling nagged at her until she found herself inside Lelianna’s command tent right in front of the chantry.

“Was there something else you needed lady Herald,” Lelianna had noticed Nikki’s absent minded wanderings and Nikki nearly smacked herself at her forgetfulness.

“Butler is a spy,” she blurted out. Lelianna’s face went from teasing to serious is a matter of seconds.

“You know this?” 

“He’s going to kill Farrier because Farrier is going to discover the truth and Butler will kill him to keep you from finding out until it’s too late. But you must not kill him, he has information that will be useful to the Inquisition, capture and interrogate him. Just don’t kill him.”

“You obviously feel very strongly about this,” Lelianna moved to her desk that was covered in coded missives. 

“Our humanity is what separates us from those that would see this world destroyed. If we lower ourselves to using our soldiers as fodder, then we are no better than those we fight against,” Nikki spoke sagely to the spymaster. She could see Lelianna pondering over her words before nodding her thanks and began her work. 

Nikki left Lelianna’s tent and wandered her way over to Solas’ cabin. Garrick would be leaving with Cassandra, Solas, and Varric the following morning for the Hinterlands. She wanted to talk with her mentor and see what he thought of going to the Hinterlands. 

She rounded the corner and saw Solas standing outside his cabin, staring thoughtfully at the Breach, “Greetings Hahren.”

Solas turned and nearly smiled at her approach, never before had someone’s mere presence brought him the peace and joy that she brought, “Da’len, how was the war meeting?”

“Garrick is heading to the Hinterlands tomorrow and I know I’d feel alot better if he had the best healer in Haven with him,” in the past week, Solas had noticed the closeness of the two Heralds and had seen the sheer kindness that Nikki seemed to naturally extend to those around her. He had noticed some of the healers had taken to calling her the ‘Heart of the Inquisition.’ 

Solas nodded his agreement, “How has your practice in the Fade been coming?”

Nikki grimaced, “I haven’t figured out how to control my dreams in the Fade every time i sleep, and I still overflow the water basin whenever I try to fill it up.” 

She noticed that Solas had to fight the chuckle that threatened to bubble up, Nikki smiled in glee that she was able to make Solas smile to easily. Maybe if I make him see that this world isn’t so bad the way it is, then he might change his plans. 

“You’ve been meditating like I told you?”

“Of course, but like I told you meditating isn’t going to do anything, I’ve tried it before and it didn’t help with my anxiety and I'm pretty sure my emotions have an effect on my magic,” Solas felt guilty at the sad look that passed Nikki’s face and wanted to be able to take away her hurt. He still wondered at why he felt so fiercely protective of her, but no matter what he did the feeling never went away. He knew he was not alone in his feelings, but it still didn’t make him feel any better. 

“I’ll leave you to prepare for your journey,” with that she left and headed towards the tavern, a place that she had come to claim as her second home, Nikki spent much of her time talking with the barmaid, Flissa. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear her from his thoughts he entered his cabin to begin packing what he would need for his journey.

Nikki spent the rest of her day conversing, relaxing, and helping Flissa around the tavern. Her years of working as a waitress at the diner back home came in quite handy when she helped Flissa. She had even shown her a few tricks for dealing with handsy drunk soldiers that needed to unwind. 

Nikki had even made a few changes to the tavern itself, she had sequestered a corner of the tavern away for a form of darts that degraded into knife throwing at a target and if anyone missed the target, Nikki used her magic to redirect the dagger to the ceiling. Currently there were four daggers embedded in the ceiling. Varric had taken to managing the bets associated with the throwing daggers game. Everything from a bullseye to whether or not the dagger would end up in the ceiling. 

Garrick came in that night and tried his first hand at the dagger throwing contest. While he hadn’t made a bullseye, he made sure that all his daggers went onto the target. It was established that every time the daggers ended up in the ceiling, Nikki would get the pot. Everyone spent their last day together, having fun in the tavern and Nikki was struck by the feeling of safety and home. She hadn’t felt this safe since her time with her best friend Ellie. 

The next day Nikki made sure to see Garrick and company off to the Hinterlands, it was estimated that they would be gone for two months. They would try to take care of as much as they could before acting on whatever advice that Mother Giselle would give them. When they rounded the last corner out of sight of the gates, Nikki begrudgingly made her way to where Cullen was running his latest group of soldiers through drills.

While Cassandra was in the Hinterlands, Cullen would take over her training and she was not looking forward to Cullen’s command. She had permission to take the day off from training, but she wanted to watch Cullen’s method of training. After an hour of watching them, she began to notice that while Cullen was great at training his soldiers, he had moments where he needed a little bit of a confidence boost. She filed that away for later use and planned on thinking up a way to give him that boost. 

She made her way to the tavern again and sighed at how empty Haven felt with the four companions gone, off on their journey. Before she knew it the sun was setting and it was time for her to head to bed. She stood before her cabin door with Dal at her side, feeling anxious at spending the first night in her cabin alone with Dal. She had gotten used to Garrick’s snores on the other side of the cabin and as soon as she opened the door, Dal made a beeline for Garrick’s bed.

“Oh, I see how you are, first sign of freedom and you take over his bed?” Nikki teased her dog as he settled into the bed. She sighed before getting herself ready for bed and slipping under the covers on her bed, she wondered what kind of dream she would have tonight and was a little apprehensive about what she would experience. She realized that she was stalling from entering her own restful state. 

***  
Soon enough she fell asleep and was surprised at a sudden hand cupping her breasts from behind. Looking down she saw that it was large and grey, she smiled at her own subconscious. Turning in the arms that had wrapped around her she smiled into the familiar face of The Iron Bull. He stared down at her with his one eye with such lust that she almost wondered whether she was awake before any thought was rushed out of her by his lips on her own. 

They were soft, softer than she’d expect and his tongue was gentle as it brushed up against her own lips. She parted her lips with a moan as his hands moved to grasp her hips and pressed her flush against him. She could feel his hardness against her and she gave herself over to the dream and let it lead her.

He suddenly lifted her with ease and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she couldn’t get close enough to him and she was filled with a sudden desire. She heard Bull growl as their clothes disappeared in the dream and she moaned again at the sudden contact of his skin on her bare breasts. Throwing her head back, he latched onto her neck and laid her down on the bed that appeared in their dream world just as suddenly as their clothes had disappeared. 

She couldn’t contain her excitement as he left her neck and gradually moved to pay attention to her breasts, grasping his horns she gently pulled him even closer. His mouth wrapped around one of her breasts and he massaged her nipple between his teeth causing Nikki to scream in pleasure at the sensation. Growling in approval he moved to her other breast and began his work on it as well. 

By the time he was satisfied with her breasts, she was a puddle of pleasured goo, “I’m not done with you yet.”

She nearly whined as his fingers entered her, first one finger, then two they curled and wiggled inside of her, searching for that spot that would send her over the edge, he found it with practiced ease and she was screaming his name as she came hard. She had just gotten her breathing under control when he lined himself up with her entrance. Groaning at her tightness, he slowly entered her and she felt every inch of him as he entered her. She pulled him closer to her with all the strength she had left.

He started with a slow pace that soon had her frustrated and she began to buck her hips to encourage him to move faster. He grinned at her and kissed her hard as he began to speed up his languid pace. Snapping his hips into hers he moved from her mouth to her neck again and she pulled her hands down his back causing her nails to break his skin and she smelled the tang of his blood as he groaned in his own pleasure. 

He came within her and as the last of his seed left him, Nikki awoke in her bed. Alone in her cabin, she sat up feeling beads of sweat roll down her back. It took her a few moments to get her breathing under control, maybe she had been celibate for too long. She grimaced at herself, it’s only been a week here in Thedas, but it’s been at least 3 months since she last had sex. Suddenly an idea popped into her head as to help herself with her problem as well as how to help Cullen with his confidence issue. Grinning at herself she rolled onto her side and promptly fell back asleep.

***  
Miles away, in a temporary camp that held a mixture of occupants the other participant of Nikki’s dream awoke. Currently it was a blond human named Grim that was on watch. He heard his chief moaning in his sleep and was able to tell the difference between a nightmare and a sex dream. He smiled and hoped his chief was having fun in his dream. With a final groan, Grim knew that his chief was awake, another indicator was that his chief The Iron Bull sat up and Grim could see the outline of his horns shadowed against his tent. Bull rubbed at his face one handed and got himself up and got ready for his watch. 

Grim grunted in greeting as Bull emerged from his tent and Bull nodded in his direction, “Hey Grim, anything interesting happen?”

Grim raised an eyebrow as if to say, shouldn’t that question be directed at you? 

“Guess you heard me huh?”

He nodded once in response to the question and tossed a smirk at his chief, First time for everything.

“Haven’t had a dream that intense since I first hit puberty,” Bull commented while staring into the fire.

Grim shrugged as got up to make his way to his own tent for some rest. Bull continued to stare into the fire thinking about his dream that he had experienced, who was the woman? He knew it wasn’t anyone from his past so he figured it had to be a woman that his own mind had supplied. With a regretful sigh he turned his attention to the surrounding landscape, she had been perfect. He had always had a weakness for redheads and she was so responsive to his actions, he wished she was real. He forced himself to push his dream and the woman out of his mind as he scanned the world around him for any danger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wanted to post some chapters, at least up to the first lemon of the series. Let me know what you think!!


	9. Chapter 9

Garrick may have been used to sitting in a saddle for long periods of time, but that didn’t mean he liked it. He would have preferred to have just flown, but Nikki had warned him that Dragons didn’t show signs of sentience here and half-dragon beings were not in existence. It made him grumble at the limitations it put on him.

His natural form of a nine foot tall four armed gorilla called a Girallon was fearful enough without adding the massive red dragon wings that protruded from his back. He looked at the sky wistfully as they rode south to the Hinterlands.

The Inquisition had set up a camp near the Crossroads where Mother Giselle had set up attempting to heal those injured in the fighting and Garrick met up with a dwarf that he was informed that he absolutely had to talk to. 

“Herald of Andraste! I’ve heard the stories, everyone has. We know what you did at the Breach, is she here too?” a small red haired dwarf asked of him. 

He smiled charmingly at her, “Pleasure to meet you miss?”

“Harding! Scout Harding, at your service. I-all of us here- we’ll do everything we can to help.’

Varric let out a chuckle, “Harding, huh? Ever been to Kirkwall’s Hightown?”

“I can’t say I have, why?” Harding looked at Varric confused as his grin grew broader.

“You’d be Harding in… oh, nevermind.”

Cassandra made a disgusted noise as she rolled her eyes at their dwarf companion. Garrick chuckled to himself with Solas and turned back to the scout.

“We should get back to business. The situation’s pretty dire. We came to secure horses from Redcliffe’s old horsemaster,” Harding couldn’t keep the tremble out of her voice as she continued her report, “I grew up here, and people always said that Dennet’s herds were the strongest and the fastest this side of the Frostbacks. But with the Mage-Templar fighting getting worse, we couldn’t get to Dennet. Maker only knows if he’s still alive. Mother Giselle’s at the Crossroads helping refugees and the wounded, our latest reports say the war’s spread there too. Corporal Vale and our men are doing what they can to help protect the people, but they won’t be able to hold out very long. You best get going, no time to lose.”

Garrick nodded affirmation to the Scout as she walked away, he got the feeling that wouldn’t be the last time he would see her. He smiled to himself as he shook his head and began to head towards the direction of the Crossroads down the hill from the camp. He heard the fighting happening before the rest of the party and got out his great axe in preparation. 

They rounded a corner and Cassandra called out what she saw, “Inquisition forces! They’re trying to protect the refugees, we must help them.”

“Gee I don't know, I thought about just sitting back here and letting them have all the fun,” Garrick quipped sarcastically.

They approached a group of templars first, “hold! We are not apostates,” Cassandra called out to them.

The templars turned and chose to charge at them as Solas said, “I do not think they care, Seeker.”

Garrick twirled his axe in his hand as he grinned, “my turn at negotiations.”

He swung at the first templar to reach him, slicing through the man’s armor as if it weren’t there. Garrick stepped back and looked to see is greataxe was blunted into a near hammerhead shape. He shrugged at his weapon and readied to swing at the next enemy. He saw an enemy archer aiming for Cassandra so Garrick put forth a burst of speed and smashed the man’s head in on itself and he turned to see only one templar remained and Solas had just frozen him in place. 

Garrick walked up to the group and pointed further up the path where a group of mages were attacking with sellsword allies. Solas called out to this group.

“We are not templars! We mean you no harm,” the group of mages and mercenaries aggressed towards them and Varric quipped to Solas.

“Doesn’t look like they're listening.”

“Fine by me, the more the merrier,” Garrick twirled his mangled greataxe to the other side. 

Putting forth another bout of speed, Garrick ran up to the mage farthest away from them and sliced the man’s head off his shoulders before he could react. Turning, Garrick raised his hands to block the sword that came swinging down, blocking with the hilt of his greataxe Garrick turned the Sellsword’s blade away from him and used the but of his axe to hit the man in his face, stunning him. Garrick sliced across the man’s front with his blade and turned to slice down the next man to come swinging at him in a downward motion. 

Quickly all enemies were dispatched and Garrick quickly found a woman convincing a soldier to be healed by a mage, this world really was a strange one, “Mother Giselle, I presume?”

She rose and Garrick was reminded of his mother, Clara, he smiled at her memory, “I am, you are one of the ones they are calling Herald of Andraste.”

“Not through any choice of mine,” he hated the faith that these people put in him so readily, it spoke of the direness of the situation. 

Mother Giselle chuckled at him, “We seldom have much say in our fate, I’m sad to say.”

“So you agree with them?”

“I do not presume to know the Maker’s intentions, for any of us, but I did not ask you here simply to debate with me.”

“They why did you call me here?”

“I know of the Chantry’s denouncement, and i’m familiar with those behind it. I won’t lie to you, some of them are grandstanding; hoping to increase their chance of becoming the next Divine. Some are simply terrified, so many good people senselessly taken from us,” Mother Giselle trailed off and Garrick rested a hand on her shoulder.

“What happened there was horrible, but I can’t make it right without help,” he gently prodded.

“Fear makes us desperate, but hopefully not beyond reason. Go to them. Convince the remaining clerics you are no demon to be feared. They have heard only frightful tales of you, give them something else to believe. 

“You sure that won’t just make it worse?”

She smiled gently at him, “let me put it this way: you needn’t convince them all. You just need some of them to doubt. Their power is their unified voice, take that from them and you receive the time you need.”

“So what, I just show up, show them the mark on my hand and…?”

“I honestly don’t know if you’ve been touched by fate or sent to help us...but i hope. Hope is what we need now, the people will listen to your rallying call as they will listen to no other. You could build the Inquisition into a force that will deliver us, or destroy us. I will go to Haven and provide Sister Lelianna with the names of those who would be amenable to a gathering. It is not much, but I will do whatever I can,” she nodded farewell to him and left him standing at the top of the staircase that led down to the makeshift town. 

They agreed for the need to help these people so they hunted rams in the eastern fields for a while and Garrick just ran them down and snapping their necks. He wanted so badly to shift to his normal state so as to carry more rams, but knew the dangers that held. Instead he worked with Varric to get ahold of a cart and he pulled it along and dropped it when he was needed to fight. Varric and worked out a braking system so that it never rolled backwards. 

They gathered and delivered the ram carcases, as they were dropping off the supplies with the hunter, Garrick noticed one of the refugees looking around nervously, as if looking for something. 

“Be right back, guys,” Garrick nodded to Varric as he walked up to the man, “What seems to be the trouble, ser?”

“It’s my wife, she can’t catch her breath when the weather’s foul. Like cobwebs in her lungs. Our son Hindel, he made a potion for her but her he left to join that cult in the hills,” Nikki had mentioned this refugee and had told him to include that very potion in his pack as well as the recipe. She also made sure to let him know that the boy needed a talking to. 

“Here sir, the Heart of the Inquisition sends this,” he had no idea where the title had come from as he handed the man the potion that Nikki made sure to send him with. 

Instantly he saw the relief in the man’s eyes, “you have my thanks, and if ever the Inquisition needs anything, I am here at your disposal.” 

Garrick smiled at the man, “Spread the word of an Inquisition forming in Haven and we’ll need all the help we can get.” 

They shook hands and Garrick waved at the man as he walked backwards back to Cassandra, Solas, and Varric, “spreading word of the Inquisition?”

Garrick eyed Cassandra, “just doing as Tama asked.”

“Tama?” 

“Nickname Varric and I picked out for Nikki, I was testing it out. Oh, I may have made her a title,” Garrick grimaced at Cassandra.

“Very well, what title would that be,” Cassandra looked at him expectantly.

“The Heart of the Inquisition, it may be nothing and he may not even remember it,” Garrick shrugged at her.

Just then from a house up the road, “Praise be to the Heart of the Inquisition, she saw to my wife’s shallow breaths before we knew it. She must be the Seer Mage Herald of Andraste!”

Garrick winced and mouthed, ‘sorry.’ Cassandra rolled her eyes and groaned in disgust. Solas raised an eyebrow at this development. Varric began chuckling to himself, “I am so putting that in there there’s no way I could make that shit up!” Garrick laughed as they continued to make plans to continue to follow Nikki’s advice in the Hinterlands.

~*~*~*~*  
It took her a month to finally be able to function after Cullen’s training sessions. He insisted they train in full armor so that they could all get used to the weight of it and it made sense, but that didn’t stop Nikki from groaning and bitching to her friend Flissa. Luckily, Flissa understood her predicament and let her use the tavern as her escape from training and she made sure no one bothered Nikki when she was resting. Nikki slept better when she had people around her that she trusted and she trusted Flissa to keep her safe while she napped in the back room of the Tavern. 

Dal had kept busy by helping the hunters of Haven with hunting and gathering food from the surrounding area for Inquisition soldiers, but he spent every night tucked away on Garrick’s bed across the room from Nikki’s bed. Nikki’s nights had alternated between dreams of Solas teaching her and Bull ravaging her, she was nearing her wits end with her physical frustration. 

She hadn't spent the last month only training with Cullen, she made sure to keep him fed and had began spending her evenings with him playing chess. She had also convinced Harrit to make her a custom made sword in the style of a Nodachi. It was the kind of sword she was most familiar with and she had had to use her magic to help him make the sword, but it had turned out beautiful. Garrick had sent shipments of elfroot, iron, and onyx whenever he had found a deposit of each resource. 

The blade of her sword was made of onyx, which was not a gem like on earth, but more of an ore like Iron and acted as such. The handle was wrapped with Druffalo hide which was soft like butter beneath her fingers. The hide had been sent away to be stained red and had come back just in time to be added to the sword. Nikki had talked with Harritt about putting a magical foci in the pommel of the sword and he had agreed and Nikki had found a mage that had joined the Inquisition and was willing to help with her project. The end result was worth the work that she put in with Harritt, she could tell that he was especially proud of his work with the sword. 

She had tried to help Harritt whenever she could, but she was often exhausted from Cullen’s training. It also didn’help that every time Garrick closed a rift in the Hinterlands, she broke down in a panic attack that had her running back to her cabin every time it happened. Nikki only remembered there being like 10 or maybe 15 rifts in the area, but by now it felt like Garrick had closed close to 15 already and he wasn’t expected back for another month, she didn’t know if she could maintain her sanity for another month. Another stroke of luck, no one questioned her when she suddenly fell to her knees crying before running away. They all just got out of her way and made sure not to disturb her. 

Cullen, bless his heart, had tried many strategies to help Nikki with her bouts of panic whenever Garrick closed a rift. He had tried meditating with her, talking with her, using everything in his arsenal of templar training and his own experiences in the Circle Tower. Through his attempts to help her, they can become quite good friends and teased each other relentlessly. 

Upon hearing a knock on her door, she called out for the individual to enter her cabin, she saw that it was Cullen entering with his chess board. He had found out that she knew how to play and despite her fiercest arguments saying she sucked at the game he still insisted that they play. Suddenly an idea popped into her head and a devilish grin appeared on her face. She smirked at Dal, who had taken up residence on Garrick’s bed.

“Commander, what if we played a bit differently tonight?” she spoke coyly.

“How do you mean my Lady Herald” Cullen set the board down on the table that was tucked by the wall between the two beds.

“Please, how many times must I ask you to call me Nikki?” she rolled her eyes at the Commander, “Differently as in, we add a little spice, Commander.”

She watched as his cheeks reddened at what her tone had implied, “Lady Nikki, what kind of spice would you want to add?” 

Nikki smiled at him as he set up the board, “Well first I’d have to explain a few things.”

“Like?” through his embarrassment, his curiosity had peaqued.

She made sure that her tunic was loose at the top to give a full view of her breasts, she was frustrated at seeing him falter in his confidence and knew that he needed this as much as she did. However, it had to be his choice to do this, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t help his decision along. She sat at the table and crossed her arms beneath her breasts, framing them then leaning forward to rest her upper body on the table in front of the board.

“First off, I never play chess to win. I play to have fun,” she lowered her eyelids and looked through her lashes at him.

“What kind of fun do you have then?” Cullen moved first.

Nikki cocked her head at the board in thought before making her move, “you’ll see in a minute, but know that if you don’t want that kind of fun then you just have to say so.”

“My lady-”

“Also, know that you will be in charge tonight,” Nikki interrupted, “If you say stop, we stop. You say go, we go.” She had punctuated her words with the clack of her piece being placed on the board, her hand lingering on the phallic shaped bishop. Cullen looked at her bewildered as he absentmindedly moved his knight to take her bishop. 

She saw his move and grinned, without saying a word she lifted her foot to her leg and began unlacing her boot. After she took it off and tossed it behind her, she resumed her former sitting position and slouched, pressing her breasts up and nearly falling out of the top of her tunic. She waited until he realised what her plan was before she spoke again, “I’m not looking for a relationship, I need a release, I need to let go, and you need a night where your every order is obeyed. You need a confidence reminder.”

He knew she would be patient as he processed her words, did he doubt himself? Sure, what kind of Commander would he be if he just blithely thought he knew all the answers. Seemingly from nowhere he realized she was right. He turned her words over in his mind and wondered at something, “what did you mean when you said you needed to let go?”

They continued to play as they talked, Culled far more aware of his moves. While he was nervous as hell, he wanted to see more of her. Through training her, he knew that she was toned yet voluptuous and he wanted to see all of her.

“I take comfort in letting someone else be in charge for a while, I don’t have to worry that i’ll somehow screw something up because I know what is expected of me. That’s not to say that i’ll go or anything and everything, but I don’t think that we’ll have to worry about reaching those limits,” Nikki had surprised him with her ability to evade capture until the moment of truth happened when she finally took one of his pieces. 

She maintained eye contact with him as she slowly removed his pawn from the board, he had to take a steadying breath before he threw off his outer layer of armor that he never seemed to take off. His naturally broad shoulders made her mouth water in anticipation, she cleared her throat and gestured that it was his turn. He stared at her challengingly as he immediately turned and took one of her knights. Nikki had to fight not to laugh as she slowly scooted her chair back. She knew she wasn’t wearing as many clothes, so she made a show out of removing her clothes. 

Cullen couldn’t help himself as his eyes followed her actions. Suddenly her words earlier had struck home, which was probably why she had chosen chess as a medium for this night. She just wanted companionship not an exclusive relationship, he had been raised by the Chantry to only have physical relations with the one he loved. Sure, he cared for her, but did he love her? He had only known her for about a month, but here she was offering herself for his pleasure. She had told him earlier that he would be in charge, he could stop this at any point if he wanted. He had to be insane to want to stop this, she was explicitly giving him the carte blanche to do whatever he wanted. The only question left was, what did he want?

While he had been thinking, she had managed to take two of his pieces and he moved to take off his boots, “Distracted? Commander.”

The way she purred his title sent shivers straight to his hardening member, “Not at all, I merely noticed that you were wearing less than I was when we started, so I figured I would let you even the playing field, Herald.”

The emphasis placed on her hated title told her that he would be calling her that, at least for this playing session. Okay, I guess he either finds comfort in calling me Herald, or it’s a kink, fun. Nikki pondered to herself and before she knew it, Cullen had taken three pieces, and she had taken four. She worked to take off her socks and tunic belt while he took off his shoes, belt, and shirt. The shirt was last and her eyes widened at the expanse of chiseled muscle framed by scars that crisscrossed his torso. Her mouth watered further at the thought of kissing those scars and she felt her center warm at the thought. 

When he took her next piece sh rested his elbows on the table and watched her expectantly, all she had left was her pants and her tunic. Her tunic was long enough to cover herself, so she could take off her trousers and still maintain teasing. On the other hand, she could have just as much fun watching him squirm. 

Her face lit up at her latest idea, “Commander, I can’t seem to decide, could you help me, sir.”

She had practically purred the question at him and had he not been sitting in the position he was, he would have been a puddle of goo on the floor at her tone. He cleared his throat a few times to center himself as he shifted in his seat, his pants were definitely too tight.

“You will remove your trousers, Herald,” Nikki was pleasantly surprised, she wasn’t sure if the Chantry Choir Boy had it in him. She stood, keeping eye contact with him, she untied her trousers, she slid her trousers slowly down her pale legs. 

She sent a silent thanks to Dirthara for showing her how to take care of her body hair that she hated on herself, he had also told her what to do for a contraceptive in this world, luckily the contraceptive was a potion. The first time she had used magic to shave her body hair, it hadn’t grown back, which was great, but not so great for a contraceptive that may need to be reversed. Thus how lucky she was that the contraceptive for this world was a potion that she had had Adan help her with. 

Nikki lounged back into her chair and crossed her legs languidly, “Yes sir.” 

“That will be the last article of clothing you will remove Herald,” his tone suddenly serious. When confusion crossed her face he elaborated, “When I take your pieces from here on out, I will be removing articles of clothing.”

Her eyes widened at his words, she hadn’t expected this. It certainly met and exceeded her expectations. She squirmed in her seat and took a steadying breath before responding with another, “Yes sir.” 

“Good, now how about we get back to our game,” he spoke with a challenging raised eyebrow. They played and when Cullen smirked at her after he had taken her third piece in as many moves, she realized that she was deliberately moving her chess pieces into the paths of his.

“Excited,” he teased at her as he quickly shed his clothing, when he was completely bare he lounged back in his chair and slid it away from the table. 

“I think we are done with the chess game my Herald,” he motioned for her to stand before him, clad only in her tunic which reached mid-thigh on her. She nodded her agreement and quickly stood before him, with each step closer to him her heart beat louder. She let her eyes wander appreciatively across his body and when her eyes landed on his hardened member she unconsciously licked her lips in anticipation. 

He regarded her for a moment before raising his hand to his chin as if in thought, “I want you to pleasure your Commander, Herald.”

She bit her lip in indecision before asking, “How would you like your Herald to pleasure you, Commander?”

Cullen nearly groaned at the innocent tone she threw into the question, instead he growled out, “with your mouth, Herald.”

Her response was immediate, kneeling in front of him she wasted no time before sliding her hands up his thighs. Her nails biting into his flesh, just on the cusp of painful. It felt more like a really good scratch that scratched a very different kind of itch. She slid herself up his legs and settled herself between them. Locking her eyes with his, she watched him as she ran her tongue up the underside of his shaft. 

He couldn’t help his head from throwing back and groaning any more than he could stop his hand from resting on the top of her head. He had received this kind of treatment before, but they always pulled away from him when he touched them. Not her, she took it as encouragement and slid his entire length into her mouth. She relaxed her throat as she took him further into her mouth, humming in approval around his cock as his hand grasped her hair. It took every ounce of willpower he had to not thrust himself deeper into her mouth. 

When she began to bob her head up and down his shaft, he grasped the arm of the chair with his other hand. Her tongue was swirling around his cock in delicious ways, as if she couldn’t get enough of him. Before he could growl out a warning, she flicked her tongue just so and he exploded into her mouth. She had anticipated his climax before he could and she worked her throat to swallow every bit of his seed. 

After he finished, he pulled her up to straddle his lap before he latched onto her neck with his mouth. His tongue felt at her pulse and he moved his hands to grasp at the collar of her tunic. He paused only a moment before ripping the clothing from her, letting the fabric fall to the floor on either side of them. His mouth watered at the sight of her naked form before him, moving his head he pulled one of her pert nipples into his mouth. He brought a hand up to grasp at her other breast as he teased the nipple gently between his teeth. She gasped and gripped his shoulders in pleasure, but also providing an anchor for her to pull herself closer to him. 

He switched to her other breast before grasping her rear and pulling them both from the chair and they made their way to her bed. He tried to be as gentle as possible as he laid her down on her bed and draped himself over her. Hovering over her, he made sure that none of his weight was on her as he eased himself slowly inside her. She waited patiently until he was fully sheathed within her and she wrapped her legs around his.

“I promise you won’t break me, sir,” she spoke gently, telling him he could let go a little and that she would be okay, but Cullen didn’t want to let go any further he had. He shook his head in response, closing his eyes. Suddenly her hands gripped either side of his face forcing him to look at her when he opened his eyes.

“You train and lead these men and women every day, you hold their lives in your hands. It’s okay to let go sometimes, Commander,” he had never felt so naked before. It was as if she had stirpped him bare and instead of laughing at his insecurities, she soothed them and acted as a balm against his wounds. 

“Please, sir, let go for a bit. I won’t break,” Nikki slowly moved her hips to encourage him to move. His resolve broke and when her hips made him leave her warmth, he slammed into her making her groan in pleasure and she smiled back up at him. It was like a dam had broken over his control and he could no longer hold back. He slammed into her over and over until she tore her pillow from under her head to muffle her screams of pleasure. He groaned as his seed spilled into her body a second time and used one hand to move the pillow off her face and looked at her questioningly.

“I didn’t want anyone hear me and come running in a panic,” he smiled at her.

“Always thinking of others huh, Tama,” the rumored nickname had slipped out without thought. 

“Ugh, I can’t believe the rumor even got to you!” she groaned and turned her head to hide her face into Cullen’s neck as he plopped onto her bed next to her. 

Cullen laughed at her reaction and wrapped his arms around her, “So how does this even work?”

She sighed and turned onto her back and turned to face him before she began to speak, “well, I’m not looking for anything more than an occasional tussle. I don’t want to hold you back from potentially finding a relationship outside of this. Therefore, if either of us wants to end this we say, ‘Katoh’ and it’s over. No questions asked. However, I hope that above all else we remain friends and we can feel comfortable enough to tell each other when we are feeling uncomfortable about something.”

“Should I be concerned that you have this down to a system?”

“I find comfort in systems, I know what is expected and I can usually meet those expectations and if i can’t then it becomes a goal for me to meet,” her eyelids began to droop and Cullen noticed.

“I’ll let you get some rest,” he placed a kiss to her forehead and got up to put his clothes on. She watched him through sleep heavy eyes, once he was presentable he stopped by her door and spoke so softly she nearly didn’t hear him, “Good night, Nikki.”

Nikki relaxed into her bed and let her eyes drift slowly shut in peaceful slumber, except it wasn’t as peaceful as she expected. As soon as she was asleep she felt familiar large grey hands grasping her from behind. 

“Bull,” her breathy whisper came out as a prayer.

He growled in approval as he roughly spun her around and stared into her eyes. Suddenly his eyes narrowed and he growled before latching himself onto her lips, kissing her roughly. She groaned into his mouth as his tongue explored her mouth thoroughly, mapping every bit of her mouth. As before, she was suddenly naked before him with a simple thought, just as he was bare before her. 

“Kneel,” her body moved to obey before she had a chance to think about it and she nearly whimpered with need. When she was in position she nuzzled her face against his thigh causing him to groan. He rested his hand on her head, gathering her hair into his hand he moved her to the front of his hardened member. She ran her tongue up the underside of his cock, holding back a groan at his taste.

Finally she began to swallow his cock and swirled her tongue around him. She felt his hand tighten on her hair to the point that had she been awake, she would have groaned in pleasure at the pain it would have caused. She bobbed her head up and down his shaft as she sucked and when she made him come in her mouth, she swallowed every bit she could. However, she left a bit of his come on her lips and watched him as she slowly licked it into her mouth, grinning up at his approving smile.

“I’m nowhere near done with you,” he suddenly lifted her up and threw her unceremoniously onto the bed that had appeared in the dream. Her back hit the soft bed and he appeared over her, trapping her within his arms. He used one of his hands to occupy a breast as his other hand pulled apart her folds. 

“You are mine,” he growled into her ear before moving his mouth to cover her breast. He rolled her nipple between his teeth as he entered two fingers inside her causing her to grasp at his horns. 

“Yours, always yours Bull,” she bucked her hips into his fingers as he curled his fingers inside of her. He scissored his fingers inside of her as he added fingers and she screamed in pleasure. 

“Do you want my cock inside of you, Asala,” he asked her coyly from her breast.

“Yes, please,” she begged.

“Please what, Asala, what do you want? How can I know what you want unless you tell me?” 

“Please, Bull. I want your cock inside of me,” she begged of him as she squirmed under his ministrations. 

“Well, who am I to deny my Asala?” without warning he slammed into her and she groaned at the feeling of being filled. She wrapped her legs tightly around his hips and rocked her hips in time with his trusts. She felt the pleasure building within her and screamed when her pleasure overflowed. 

He joined in her pleasure and just as he finished, The Iron Bull jolted awake and threw his arm over his eyes as he awoke for the 5th time that month from similar dreams. He groaned before he sat up and rolled himself out of his tent and met up with Grim again. It seemed he was doomed to wake up alone from the most wonderful dream he had ever had, as well as being doomed to seeing Grim after every dream he had like that. 

He wished she was real, if only to finally fuck her for real and get her out of his head. Where had she come from anyway? He had never seen anyone like her, sure he had a weakness for redheads, but to dream of the same redhead for a solid month was ridiculous. He had tried every meditation and Ben-Hassrath learned technique he could in order to get her out of his head, but nothing worked. While that unnerved him, he couldn’t bring himself to feel unnerved at her presence. He only felt a peace that had evaded him ever since Seheron.

She took everything he gave her, no complaints and every order he gave she obeyed without complaint or question. Granted, she was just a figment of his imagination that he dreamt about,but she was perfect. He settled himself beside the fire across from Grim who raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I dreamt about her again, I’ve tried everything. Hell, I’ve even gone to bed slobbering drunk and still dreamt about her,” he stared into the fire before Grim got up to go to his own tent. Patting his shoulder as he passed Bull raised his hand in a silent wave. He resigned himself to dream of her for now as he turned his attention to the surrounding landscape. 

~*~*~*~*  
Nikki woke from her dream the night before feeling refreshed, as she usually did after dreaming of The Iron Bull. She felt both excitement and apprehension at Bull’s imminent arrival. Sure, travel to the Storm Coast wouldn’t be until after Val Royeaux which is where she would officially become known as the other Herald of Andraste. At moments it felt like the time to go to The Storm Coast seemed to creep up on her and come unnaturally closer at the same time.

She couldn’t wait to finally lay her eyes on The Iron Bull in person, but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to tell him anything about her that was outside the official response. The minute the Qun learned of her and the implications of her and Garrick being from another world, she had no doubt in her mind that the Qun would demand that they both die. This would only end in either her death or Bull’s and she didn’t want that by any stretch of the imagination. 

She bobbed and weaved through the crowd that had gathered at the gates of Haven to await the arrival of Garrick and his entourage. She couldn’t wait to see her friends again, the only contact she had had was writing for the last two months, Varric wrote for Garrick of course. Therefore they couldn’t talk about how different Thedas was from their home Worlds, she missed not being the only stranger to this world. She missed talking to Solas about magic. They had spent the last two months talking in the Fade, but it wasn’t the same. As soon as she saw the party of five enter through the gates she sprinted for the front and shouted apologies as she passed. She arrived just as Garrick had dismounted and she barreled into him.

“I missed you guys so much,” Garrick barely managed to stay upright when she barreled into him.

“My my Little Nikki, you really missed us that much?” Garrick asked her as she let him go to hug Cassandra.

“I would say I prefer Cassandra’s lessons to Cullen’s, but I know better.”

“Yeah, Cassandra’s are worse,” Varric teased as he walked up.

“Nah, they’re about the same,” Nikki shrugged.

She let go of Cassandra and quickly hugged Solas next, he surprised himself by hugging her back.

“I’ll have to up my game,” Cassandra teased at Nikki.

“Please don’t,” Nikki quipped back at her as Blackwall came up to the group, “Hello, Blackwall.”

“Right, Heart of the Inquisition,” Nikki grimaced at her rumored title, “so what all do you know about me?”

“Everything,” she spoke simply as she walked with Garrick, Solas, and Varric to the Tavern, “So, I’ve been working with Flissa that I think you’re going to love, Varric.”

“Oh, is this that surprise that you kept talking about,” Varric looked up at her slyly.

Nikki didn’t respond, she just shrugged and smiled back down at him. Cassandra made a disgusted noise and brushed past the group.

“Don’t mind her, Tama. She’s just upset that Serenity here didn’t want to meet with the war council right away. He wanted to relax in the tavern for a bit,” Varric waved in Cassandra’s retreating back.

“Serenity?” 

“You didn’t see him in the Hinterlands, honestly if he weren’t our ally I’d be terrified. Hell, he’s our ally and I’m still terrified of him in a rage.”

“So Serenity, for irony?” Nikki quipped back at him.

“More or less Tama, I’m still debating on it” Varric shrugged.

“Oi, Flissa. Let’s have us the first official round of Fireball,” Nikki shouted across the tavern as they entered it.

“Official round?” Varric asked of her.

“Yeah, Flissa and I have been working on it. We’re not going to serve something that we haven’t tested,” Flissa brought mugs filled with ale and smaller glasses filled with cinnamon whiskey as Nikki explained. Garrick took his shot of Fireball and practically fell into his chair relaxed.

“Sweet Calistria, I hope that not every region needs as much done as the Hinterlands did,” Garrick sounded exhausted.

“Did you take care of the mages and templars in the area?”

“Yeah,” Garrick looked at Nikki questioningly.

“You got Horsemaster Dennet, did you check out the Ocularums?”

“Skulls on sticks?”

“Yep.”

“Yeah, you wanna tell me your plan here Tama?”

“Yeah, I ask you what all you did, then I attend the war council for you.”

The relief on Garrick’s face was immediate, “We found a bunch of Astariums. Explored the cave it led to. I kind of created a title for you within the Inquisition, I gave the potion to the refugee who needed it for his wife.”

“Wait, wait, wait. You created that title for me?”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t catch it, but I kind of called you the Heart of the Inquisition and he began shouting your praises,” Nikki grimaced at Garrick as he continued his report, “We made contact with master Dennet and cleared the way for Cullen’s men to build the watch towers which were under construction when we left. We took care of securing the route for Dennet’s horses to join the Inquisition as well as Master Dennet himself as you saw. We went to the southwestern corner of the hinterlands and cleared that fortress of bandits. We did not go after the Dragon in the North East corner, but we did explore a ruin that held an elven artifact.”

“Which strengthened the veil, according to Solas,” Nikki finished his explanation, looking to Solas and gauging his reaction.

“Alright, I’ll call together the war council while you rest, and make sure to eat,” the look in Nikki’s eyes promised retribution for them not following her orders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Asala - Soul


	10. Chapter 10

Nikki left the tavern to make her way up to the Chantry, as she got closer she heard loud shouts coming from up the hill. She sighed to herself as Dal followed her protectively, he didn’t like the angry voiced and really didn’t like that Nikki was heading towards it. 

“Your kind killed Most Holy,” Nikki grimaced as the argument that she had tried to mediate between the mages and templars in camp finally escalated.

“Lies! Your kind let her die!” was shouted back before Cullen intervened.

“Knight-Captain!”

“That is not my title. We are not templars any longer. We are all part of the Inquisition!”

“And what does that mean, exactly?” Chancellor Roderick walked up at around the same time as Nikki. He caught Nikki’s gaze and paled before resolving himself and continuing to walk towards Cullen. 

“Back already, Chancellor? Haven’t you done enough?”

“I’m curious, Commander, as to how your Inquisition and its ‘Heralds’ will restore order as you’ve promised.”

“That’s interesting, considering that is exactly what Garrick just came back from doing in the Hinterlands, or have you not seen the massive gathering that we’ve amassed here in Haven,” Nikki spoke up.

“Ah, one of the Heralds now,” some of the wind seemed to fly out of the Chancellor at her words.

“You’re curious as to how the Inquisition will restore order when we are already doing just that,” Nikki walked up to the Chancellor and he stepped back and appeared a bit deflated.

“As you well know, there may be two Heralds but I am unable to help anyone, so rather than send me out to blunder along and do more harm than good, we sent Garrick out to help people while learned to fight. Now, what have you done Chancellor? What have you done to help the people, other than sowing dissent and anger amongst everyone here who should be focusing on the giant gaping hole in the sky,” by the end of her speech she was yelling at the Chancellor and he was ducking his head in shame with every question that she threw at him.

“Now listen here-” he attempted to regain control of the situation.

“No, you listen. These people are all mourning Most Holy just as you are, yet does the Chantry send aid to those wounded and mourning? No, you know why, Chancellor? It’s because the Chantry is filled to the brim with buffoons blathering on about how there are Heralds of Andraste are here to usurp the Chantry. We are the ones helping these people, not the Chantry and certainly not you. So, I suggest that you get over yourself and look the fuck around you and see the people that you are completely ignoring in favor of your own pride.”

Cullen looked wide eyed at the normally mild tempered mage, he could see sparks of electricity sparking along her hair and inside of her clenched fist. He cleared his throat to turn Nikki’s attention to him and he saw the fire that blazed in the depths of her silvery eyes. Cullen turned to the crowd and told them all to get back to their duties.

After the crowd dispersed, Cullen turned to Nikki, “Where did all that come from?”

Nikki shrugged, “it’s been building between the mages and templars for a while and the Chancellor hasn’t helped any by spreading anger and dissent. He’s been trying to break down the Inquisition from within by reigniting the anger over the Divine’s death.”

Cullen led her into the Chantry and they walked into the War Room where Lelianna and Josephine were waiting, “Will Cassandra and Garrick be joining us?”

“She is already here,” Cassandra sauntered in behind Cullen and Nikki.

“No Josie, Garrick won’t be joining us. He needs some time to rest, but I can fill him in later,” Nikki informed her.

Cullen smiled at a thought, “guess Taldaram is losing his personal bed.” Nikki giggled at his thought before explaining what all had happened in the Hinterlands with Cassandra filling in details where needed.

“Having the Heralds address the clerics is not a terrible idea,” Josephine commented after the explanations were done.

“You can’t be serious, we have enough problems with Chancellor Roderick and you want to send the Heralds into the heart of that. Where everyone there will demand for their heads,” Cullen vehemently came to the defense of the Heralds.

“Mother Giselle isn’t wrong: at the moment, the Chantry’s only strength is that they are united in opinion,” Josephine defended.

“And we should ignore the danger to the Heralds?” Lelianna questioned.

“Josie is right, we have to address the clerics in Val Royeaux. It has to be both of us and we can take Cassandra, Blackwall, Varric, and Solas with us. We should be safe enough in a group of six,” Nikki spoke firmly and looked apologetically at Cullen’s visible anger.

“But it just lends credence to the idea that we should care what the Chantry says.”

“So? Does that mean we just ignore the threat that they pose?”

“Well, no, but-”

“Cullen, if you come up with a better idea in the next day or so, then let us know until then Garrick will rest and we will all head to Val Royeaux in a few days,” Nikki turned her attention to the spymaster, “Mother Giselle said she could provide us names. I suggest you use them, maybe we can find some way to garner help to deal with the Breach.”

“I agree, use whatever influence we have gathered and bring the clerics together, once they are ready, we will see this through. You are right, it shouldn’t take more than a couple of days to spread word. Then, by the time we get there they should be ready,” Cassandra spoke up

“Yeah, ready to ambush you all and arrest the Heralds.”

“Cullen,” Nikki chastised.

“What? Is it wrong for me to be concerned for my friends?”

“You are right, Commander, but what choice do we have?” Cassandra sounded more than a little defeated.

“Enough, we have a plan, if any of us come up with a better one then we’ll hear it out, but for now we will just have to go with it,” Nikki rubbed her forehead at the headache she could feel approaching. 

Nikki turned on her heel and walked out of the War Council room and headed out of the chantry. She stood and waited by Lelianna’s tent for the spymaster to arrive.

“My lady?” Lelianna inquired as she walked up.

“Garrick cleared a fortress in the Hinterlands that would make a strategic point to place soldiers, do you think contacting the Earl of Redcliffe to station men there would be a good tactic, or should we just station men there so as to keep that area safe?”

“Hmm,” Lelianna hummed to herself, “You raise a good point, I will contact the Earl Eamon and if he does not respond, then I will talk with Cullen about stationing some soldiers there.”

Nikki nodded her thanks and began to make her way out past the gates of Haven and towards the smith, she knew that Blackwall would end up hanging around there but right then she wanted the familiarity of the forge. After she had helped Harrit to make her Nodachi he had respected her and let her sit on the boxes and watch them work. She was quiet and out of the way so she never posed a problem and whenever one of his helpers was stupid and got hurt she was always willing and ready to heal.

“Milady,” Harrit nodded with his greeting at her as she took her usual spot on her perch. 

“Heya Harrit, anyone hurt themselves today?”

“Aye, but it’ll do him some good to let it hurt a bit longer, maybe he’ll remember the lesson better than last time,” Nikki smiled at him. He was a hard boss, but fair. He kind of reminded her of Cullen and Cassandra, but with a forge instead of a sword.

She stood on her box and grasped the wood above her head. She pulled herself up and hid herself in the alcove that was above the forge. Harrit and Dal shared a look, she was stressing about something. He just didn’t know how to help her.

Once Nikki was in her little hidey-hole, she wrapped her arms around her legs and curled in on herself. The headache that had started in the War Council room had spread down her neck and her whole head throbbed. She rested her head against a piece of wood that was at the perfect height to do so. The warmth from the Forge wafted up to her and she relished in the warmth. Nikki had always hated the cold, or rather she hated being cold. 

Her head throbbed louder, wincing she willed healing energy into her hands and pressed them to her temples. She sighed as the healing energy wafted over her and around her in a radius that she tried to minimize through practice, it didn’t work as well as she would have hoped. Her magic still overflowed and went further than she willed it to go, but through practice she had learned the range of her ambient magic. 

“Da’len,” a familiar voice called from below, “I had hoped to find you at your cabin, or the tavern. Instead you are hiding away above the forge?” Solas’ head popped into view.

“Hey Solas,” Nikki relaxed and stretched her legs out before her, “What’s up?”

Solas quirked an eyebrow at her words before settling himself to sit next to her, “I heard about the war council.”

“So you know we’re all heading for Val Royeaux.”

“I think it would be best for you to remain here still to continue your training.”

“Yeah, the only problem with that is that the Chantry needs to see both Heralds in order to not vilify either one of us, because you know that is what they would do,” Nikki stares off to the other end of her little hidey hole, “how did you find me by the way?”

“I was just coming up the path and saw you enter the forge area, I got curious, so I followed and just as I arrived I saw you pull your leg up here. Then I felt your healing magic all around the forge.”

“Yeah, some of the guys get burned, so this is where I heal myself if I have a headache or something, that way the ambient magic gets put to use.”

“Then why did the blacksmith not want you to heal his worker if he knew you were going to do this?”

Nikki smiled at him, “It’s a less intense heal if it’s with the ambient magic versus direct healing. Any burns on those guys will feel cooler and more pleasant and they heal couple days early, but if I were to heal it directly then it wouldn’t have any marks to show a wound.”

Solas raised an eyebrow at her in-depth explanation “Harrit and I have been messing around with it. It’s healing magic and so I figure if I heal too much, that just means that there won’t be a scar or callus.”

“You make a fair point, however I still advise caution. You had mentioned that you were getting adept at healing yourself, you never said where,” his tone did not denote disappointment, but Nikki felt it coming from him nonetheless, he wanted her to tell him everything. Too bad I can’t tell you most things about my life yet, Chuckles.

“I know Solas, thanks for checking up on me,” Nikki’s eyes brightened when she thought of something, “You should come see me spar with Cassandra, I’m sure she’s made her way to the training grounds by now and I can show her how far I’ve come.”

Solas couldn’t help but smile lightly at her enthusiasm, he didn’t have the heart to tell her that from what he had seen of her fighting in the Fade, her problem with magic overflowing wasn’t the only problem. He nodded his agreement and walked with Nikki down the path to Cassandra. She was currently walking towards the training dummies.

“Hey Cass, you wanna spar?” Nikki bounced up to Cassandra.

Cassandra raised an eyebrow at her, “You’re certainly feeling better, Herald.”

Nikki grimaced, “Look Cass, we are gonna have to get over this whole Herald thing, please I beg of you call me Nikki or Nikita.”

“Your full name is Nikita?” Solas questioned at the odd name, latching onto any clue as to who this woman was before the Inquisition.

“Aye, I prefer Nikki, with two ‘k’s, but my name is spelled N-i-k-i-t-a, my dad always called me an odd duck for liking the nickname the way I do. Anyway, Cass. you. me. spar. now please.” Cassandra shrugged and moved to a sparring position across from Nikki, Solas moved a good ways back to watch. 

It turned out that Solas was correct in the prediction that Nikki would lose the sparring match, but to lose in such spectacular fashion. She had ended up literally being flipped head over feet so many times it was just sad. However, he had noticed that she got up quicker and more than she had previously been capable of. 

This last time that Nikki had been flipped, Nikki just lay there and had conceded her defeat. Solas walked over and saw her staring up at the clouds for a moment before jumping back up to her feet. She rolled her shoulders loose and began walking towards Haven’s gate, Solas followed her with Dal. 

“Not as far along as you had hoped,” Solas ventured.

“No, I had a theory and I’m just bummed that it didn’t pan out,” she said with a sigh.

“Oh? And what was this theory of yours.”

“Well, I had hoped that with familiarity my focus would be better, but I keep paying too much attention to my surroundings. I’ve tried every focusing technique that pretty much everyone in camp could think of.”

“Have you talked about it with Dirthara? A spirit of knowledge may know of something that could help.”

“Actually I have, he helps me dream of certain things that help my focus, but it only lasts for the first few hours of the morning.”

“What do you dream of that helps you focus?”

Nikki’s face reddened slightly, “It’s not something that is possible to recreated in reality just yet.”

“Yet? So we just have to wait for this thing that will help you focus? After our time in the Hinterlands we may have enough influence to see out this item that will help you. I’m sure there wouldn’t be any arguments against searching for it.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary, it’ll come to us shortly, for now let’s focus on Val Royeaux.”

“Very well, Da’len. It will take us three weeks to get to Val Royeaux. One week on horseback and two on ship. At least from here that is,” Solas opened the door to the Tavern and sudden noise flowed out of the open portal.

“Oh, I need to show you my Nodachi.”

“Nodachi?” Nikki led them over to where Blackwall and Varric were teaching Garrick how to play Wicked Grace.

“It’s type of sword from back home. I explained to Harritt how to make it and even helped him to make it.”

“Were you a blacksmith, eh, back home?” Solas asked, wanting any and all information of who she was.

“Oh god no, I got bored in school a lot, so I researched things that interested me. Japanese blacksmiths interested me because their techniques produced such beautiful, sleek, deadly weapons.”

“You goin’ on about that sword of yours again?” Flissa called over to her.

Nikki grinned at the tease, ecstatic over the fact that Flissa felt comfortable enough around her to not only call her Nikki, but to tease her. Varric raised an eyebrow at Nikki, silently telling her that he had heard about it and wanted more information about it.

“I’m an open book Varric, all you have to do is ask.”

“Alright, Tama. We’ll make a game of it then,” Varric began dealing cards to all five seated at the table, “We’ll play wicked grace with questions and drinking.”

Nikki raised an eyebrow, “that sounds complicated, Varric, you may have to explain.” 

“So first we are dealt cards, like normal. Then if you discard a card you have to ask a question of someone at the table. The person has the option to not answer the question, but the person then has to take a shot of that Fireball stuff Flissa has.”

“I’m game,” Garrick responded eagerly.

Nikki smiled at his enthusiasm, then turned to Solas and asked him in fluent elven, “could you help me cast a silencing spell around us so that others won’t hear our conversation.” Solas nodded at her thoughtfulness and did as she asked, when she felt the energy of his magic take effect, she explained what she had asked of Solas. 

“Blackwall, you’re first. Oh, and we’re still betting coin too,” Varric started them off and gave Nikki a look that dared her to say something about the money. Of course, he knew that Flissa had been giving her a cut of the profits from the Fireball that they had worked together on. It had quickly become a favorite when the soldiers noticed that they weren’t as hung over the next day.

“I’ll discard two cards and ask two questions of the Herald if I may,” Nikki raised a hand to her mouth to hide her smile as Garrick smirked at Blackwall.

“To which Herald are you referring, my good Warden,” Varric asked of him.

“Oh, Ser Garrick then,” he nodded to Garrick before shooting Nikki an apologetic look, “Where did you learn to fight, I’ve never seen the style and I was wondering about the scar that runs across your back, across your spine.”

“Ah, well I learned how to fight in a small village in the heart of the Mwangii Expanse. As for the scar, I uh, was climbing a really tall tree when I was too young to know any better and fell. My mom, Clara, was a healer and had been nearby to hear my cries, she healed me up and then proceeded to tease me about it. Calling it the first time I flew,” Garrick took a swig of his Ale and Nikki saw the look of longing as he thought of his mom.

“When did you last see them?” Nikki inquired, she knew that Kaira and Clara rarely went anywhere without the other.

“About 15 years ago, they went off on some adventure, Calistria called for mom to bring more people to her or something like that and left me at the church.”

“I’m sorry,” Nikki placed a comforting hand on his forearm and he looked at her gratefully before he cleared his throat.

“You were raised at a church?”

“Now Blackwall, you’re only allowed two questions for two cards,” Varric intervened.

“I believe it to be my turn, I shall discard three and ask three of you, Da’len,” Solas looked at her like a wolf catching a scent and the irony was not lost on her.

She took a steadying breath before responding, “ask away.”

“Where are you from?”

“Nebraska,” Nikki looked him straight in the eye and the group could feel the sudden tension as Solas asked his second question.

“Where is this Nee-bra-ska,” the word foreign on his tongue.

Nikki pondered a moment before responding, “within the continental United States.”

Solas narrowed his eyes in frustration, when they had talked in the Fade she always steered the conversation to magic, spirits, and the nature of the Fade. Yet, as they talked more and more he yearned to know more about her, he was curious about her. She was open and knowledgeable about things that she should not be knowledgeable of. He realized that that line of questioning would lead nowhere, so he changed tactics.

“Do you have siblings?”

Caught off guard at the change in question, she responded, “I have a brother and a sister.”

“Your turn, Da’len.”

Nikki looked over her hand and at the people around the table, this could be a chance to get Blackwall to open up, to gather information about the world state she was in, to get to know Garrick outside of his stats. She stared at her hand and weighed her options, it was too early for Blackwall to open up, she may be better able to help people if she knew more about the world state, and she was already getting to know Garrick by sharing a cabin and letters via Varric.

“Four cards, Varric.”

“Ask away Tama, but know that if you ask about Bianca I’ll just drink,” Varric warned her.

“I know, my questions are about your time with Hawke. First,” she rested her elbow on the table and raised a finger, “is Hawke with Fenris romantically?”

The hope in her eyes made him pause his normal response to not answer in order to respect his friend’s privacy, “Yes.”

She squealed out of pure happiness and did a mini happy dance in her chair, “Okay, two. Was Isabella handed over to the Arishok?”

“Yes, You know I could give you a copy of Tales of the Champion,” Varric offered.

“Only if it’s the one Cassandra stabbed,” Varric looked at her as if she had grown an extra head, but filed the information away for later as she continued, “Three: Do you know anything about The Hero of Ferelden?”

“Only what everyone else would know,” Nikki nodded, but raised a fourth finger.

“Is she a mage?”

“Yes.”

Nikki nodded and sat back in her seat and it became Garrick’s turn. He pondered his hand a moment before he chose to discard all five cards in his hand.

“Nikki, what do you know about me?”

Nikki swallowed some ale as she thought of how to convey how much she knew, “Why did you go to the World Wound instead of Numeria?”

“Now, Tama you’re supposed to answer the question,” Varric admonished.

Garrick stared her her, “she did. I went to the World Wound because that was the first offer for a real job that I got. Why would I go to Numeria?”

“Because that’s where I saw you go in my mind’s eye.”

“What do you know of my mothers?”

“They weren’t going to come back, they became Champions of Calistria,” they both ignored the other three looking at them, the question of who this Calistria was burning in their eyes.

Garrick narrowed his eyes, “you lie, you could not possibly have seen this, they wouldn’t-”

“They didn’t want to, but one does not refuse the Goddess of Revenge, either way they would not be able to return to you, but this way they could still look after you,” Nikki looked at him sadly as a myriad of emotions ran across his eyes.

The other three could no longer hold back their curiosity, Varric spoke first, “Your parents are Champions for a Goddess of Revenge?!”

“She’s also the Goddess of Lust,” Garrick replied without thinking.

“So when you said you grew up in the church, do you mean a church to this Goddess of Lust and Revenge?” Blackwall asked with growing horror on his face.

“It wasn’t like that, Blackwall. The clerics of the church didn’t begin raising him until he was about, what, 15 - 16,” Nikki defended and asked of Garrick.

Garrick nodded in response, “15, my mothers had started that church so when they left the Church gave me a place to stay in-between jobs, it was Great!” 

“You still have two questions Garrick,” Solas noticed the difference in Nikki’s answers between answering Garrick and answering him. With him, she kept her answers short and succinct, with Garrick she seemed to want to give him all the information she held.

“Right,” He pondered a moment before grinning mischievously, “Are you a virgin?”

“No, and don’t even think about a romp in the hay with me.”

“‘Romp in the Hay’?”

“Knocking boots, coitus, fucking, fornication, sex. I’m sorry Garrick but you are not my type babe.”

Garrick laughed at her response before clapping her on her shoulder, “alright, there goes my fifth question, now I gotta think of a new one.” Nikki nudged her elbow into his ribs as he took a drink while he thought.

“Alright then, what is your type, ‘babe’?”

Nikki pursed her lip before she began to dance her fingers across the shot of Fireball that had appeared in front of her at the beginning of the game. Garrick saw the action and Varric looked at her challengingly. Solas realized that he honestly didn’t care about what her ‘type’ was, as long as whoever she was with made her happy. He had realized in the Hinterlands that he cared for Nikki, not in a romantic way, but more of that of Father and child. 

“Bull,” Nikki then shot the drink back so fast that they nearly didn’t catch it.

“What?” Garrick prodded her to elaborate.

Nikki shook her head, “I took the shot, not explaining that one.”

After that, the game devolved into asking questions about sex, to which Solas drank the majority of his questions away before conceding defeat and excusing himself to his cabin. The other four played well into the night before they all blundered down the path to the Heralds’ cabin and Nikki refused to let Varric and Blackwall leave due to their own states of inebriation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 82670 words; 188 pages; they are waiting on word from Redcliffe's mages;


	11. Chapter 11

Nikki awoke the next morning to the sounds that seemed to be coming from the other four other occupants of the cabin causing such a cacophony of sounds that if she didn’t know any better, she could have sworn that an army had moved into her cabin. Groaning, she pulled her pillow over her head to attempt to drown out the noise. 

“I see they have not acted upon any of the preferences mentioned last night,” Solas’ voice wafted from the door.

Nikki’s eyes shot open and she threw the covers off of her. She stared at Solas standing in the doorway, carrying a steaming mug of coffee. Nikki bolted from her bed and latched onto the mug of coffee in Solas’ hands, ignoring the fact that she was in her pants and breast band. Solas raised an eyebrow at her, but relinquished his grasp on the beverage. He cast his eyes around the cabin and saw Varric, Garrick, and Blackwall all curled around each other on the floor in varying states of undress. 

Curious, he looked to the other bed to see that the Mabari, Taldaram, had claimed it and was lying on his back snoring loudly with his paws twitching in the air. Finally he spied her tunic, thankfully near the door and after closing the door behind him, grasped her tunic and held it out to her.

“Thank you, would you mind making sure the boys drink some water first thing, I’ve got to meet up with Cullen and Cassandra for training,” Nikki grimaced as she thought about her day.

“You are welcome Da’len, now would you mind putting on a shirt.”

She froze and looked down at herself, she stared at herself for a moment before purposefully looking up at him and stared into his eyes as she took a long drink of the coffee. Solas nodded and set the tunic back on her bed and moved to fill the water basin and saw that there were water stains all around the basin. She still couldn’t control the water flow. Frowning, he filled the basin and filled some cups that were nearby. He woke the men on the floor by nudging them with his foot. By the time he got to the Mabari on the bed he saw the dog was awake and was stretching on the bed.

“Oi, you brought her coffee, but not the rest of us,” Garrick pouted when he looked at Nikki nursing the coffee. She hissed at him and curled around the mug of coffee, at her hiss he froze and stared at her. He shook himself a moment later and took the cup of water from Solas.

“What was that all about,” Varric looked between both Heralds in confusion.

“I need to get ready to train with Cullen and Cassandra,” Nikki placed the empty mug on a nearby table and pulled her tunic over her head. She grabbed her Nodachi by the door and left before anyone could say anything more to her.

“It was nothing Varric, I really don’t want to talk about it right now,” Garrick moved to the water basin and began to clean himself. 

“Well, as much as I enjoyed last night, I don’t think we should make a habit of doing this, we are lucky to not be hungover,” Blackwall drank his water and sat in a nearby chair. 

“Actually, that’s because the Fireball you all drank last night is distilled with Elfroot, quite ingenious actually,” Solas informed them.

“How, I knew brewers that have tried that and it never worked,” Varric inquired.

“Flissa wouldn’t tell me, I asked and she said it was a secret.”

“Smart girl, it gets out how she did it and she may be out of business on that front. This way she has a monopoly on it.”

The men got themselves ready and made their way to the Tavern, Solas on the other hand went out the gates of Haven and steered his gaze to where Nikki was training. Today her mentors had her working on her form and footwork, she already had a shining sheen of sweat and he set himself off to the side to observe.

By the time the lunch hour came about, Cullen and Cassandra were both exasperated with her progress. They dismissed her and she met up with Solas and they walked to the tavern. She was silent as they walked and when they entered the tavern, she immediately went to Flissa. Flissa handed her a bulging sack of coin and they parted ways with smiles.

“What was that all about?”

“Oh, Flissa and I have a very profitable business that we operate together,” she smiled secretively at Solas. He let the subject drop and turned to one of his curiosities.

“You seem to have adapted quite well here,” Nikki eyed him as her lunch arrived, “You also seem to have this mixture of trusting and wary when you are around me, why?”

She chewed thoughtfully on her food until the door opened and Varric arrived. Solas inwardly groaned at the arrival of the dwarf, now there was no chance of her answering the questions he wanted to ask. Varric walked purposefully to their table and placed a book next to Nikki’s plate. She saw the cover of the book and dropped her silverware with a clatter before she launched out of her chair and glomped onto Varric.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” the sheer amount of joy the shone in her eyes made Varric so proud to have put such happiness there that he smiled back at her.

“Maker only knows why you wanted that copy.”

“Hey, this book holds great value to me.”

“Why,” he shot at her challengingly as she ate.

“It’s the book that Cassandra stabbed, it symbolizes your path that led to the Inquisition,” Nikki explained as she set her hand on the book.

Varric settled back in his chair and dug into his own food that had arrived not long before. Once Nikki was done with her food she excused herself saying that she was meeting Backwall for riding lessons and Dennet for Horse care lessons and that she wouldn’t be in the tavern that evening in favor of going straight to bed. 

True enough, she did not grace the tavern with her presence that night and had gone straight to bed. In order to be a good cabin mate, Garrick decided not to drink too much and went to bed early out of respect for her. Solas stayed in the tavern and listened to the gossip that was thrown among the soldiers. 

It seemed that she was well liked and made herself very approachable, for a mage. Solas had frowned at that, she had mentioned that she was helping to heal those that needed it. She was always so busy, he wondered if there was a reason she seemed to keep herself busy. It was a mystery for another time and he left the tavern late before he headed to bed.

Nikki woke the next day and headed to Cullen and Cassandra, “I was wondering if we could pause my training for a couple days and if nothing else pick back up on the road, there are some things I need to do and training with you guys isn’t going anywhere.”

“She has a point,” Cullen turned to Cassandra and she looked thoughtfully between the two.

“Alright, but you are going to continue the Horse lessons with Dennet and Blackwall.”

“Agreed, thanks Cass,” Nikki smiled brightly at them before turning on her heel and making her way to Adan’s hut to practice making potions. She helped him make health potions until lunchtime and instead of heading straight to the tavern she wandered her way up to the Chantry entrance, she had been meaning to chat up Lelianna about her time with the Hero of Ferelden, but they both always just managed to miss each other. 

She rounded the corner and saw a sight that caused her to stop in her tracks. There, in front of the Chantry, stood Cremisius Aclassi Lieutenant of The Bull’s Chargers. She grasped at the first person that walked by her by the shirt.Guess gathering intel from Lelianna was going to have to wait.

“Do you see a soldier standing there of Tevinter descent,” her eyes never leaving Krem as he tried to get anyone’s attention.

“Yes, ma’am, would you like me to send him away, Herald.”

“No, no, that won’t be necessary at all, I’m just making sure I’m not seeing things,” she let him go and walked her way over to Krem. The soldier, Jim, looked at her concerned before he subtly followed her to make sure the Tevinter soldier didn’t harm her.

“Excuse me, I’ve got a message for the Inquisition, but I’m having a hard time getting anyone to talk to me,” it sounded like he had said that a couple times already and she immediately felt sorry for the poor guy, again.

“Well, how about you come with me to see Josephine and then I’m taking you to the tavern to get some food.”

“You can really get me to Josephine herself,” he looked at this woman critically, she was certainly pretty enough. Dark red hair flowed down her back, he followed her into the chantry and his eyes followed the line of her hair and eyed her firm ass. Nikki felt Krem watching her and smiled to herself.

She went to the left side of the chantry and knocked on the door, “Come in!” Josephine’s voice was bright and cheery as they entered. Krem saw how pretty the diplomat was and smiled, it seemed the Inquisition had plenty of eye candy about. Nikki walked up to Josephine’s desk and sat on the edge of it and loomed over the papers on the diplomat’s desk. Josephine smiled at the woman’s actions while rolling her eyes.

“Hey Josie, how about we look at hiring mercenary companies to ease Cullen’s mind about the dangers of Val Royeaux?” Nikki tried to hold her smile back as she played this game with Josephine.

“I think that while the Inquisition could very well afford such arrangements, where would we find such a company on such short notice?” Josephine eyed the Lady Herald and saw the teasing in her face and looked to the young man that had entered with her, “I take it that’s where you come in, ser?”

“Cremisius Aclassi, milady, I’m here representing The Bull’s Chargers mercenary company. We mostly work out of Orlais and Nevarra, we’ve got references,” he walked up to the woman’s desk.

“Of course you are, Lady Herald did you see his coming or was this chance,” Josephine looked from the young man to Nikki, who grinned at her.

“Yep, they are worth every septum, and are wonderful people and will help to increase morale just by being themselves,” Nikki grinned at Krem and bounced excitedly on the desk. Krem eyed the women before him, he blinked at the woman revealed to be the seer Herald of Andraste apparently. 

“So you knew I was coming and who I was?”

“Pretty much,” although he should have arrived after Val Royeaux, so Krem was way early in her mind.

“And why I came here in the first place?”

“Why do you think I’m taking you to the tavern for lunch,” Nikki lifted herself off the desk and grasped his arm and led him out of the office and they were halfway down the hallway before she gasped suddenly as a thought struck her, “hold on, wait here for just a sec. I need to mention something to Josie.”

She ran back to the diplomat’s office and burst through the door, “Lady Herald, what’s wrong?”

“I need to warn you about something, but I can’t tell you the why behind it,” Nikki looked worried and Josephine grew concerned.

“What is it?”

“Blackwall joined us sooner than expected and I didn’t think about it till now, but he may or may not come and talk to you about utilizing the Grey Warden treaties. I need you to tell him that we will consider his request, but under no circumstances are we to actually utilize them. He is a good man and he means well,” Nikki still looked worried.

“You can’t tell me why,” Josephine wasn’t asking.

“It’s not my place to tell, and it does no harm unless you utilize them,” Josephine regarded the woman carefully. 

“I trust you will explain yourself at some point if you can?”

“You have my word,” relief shone in Nikki’s eyes as Josephine nodded her agreement and Nikki left Josephine’s office a second time, both times she had been relieved of a burden that had been weighing on her shoulders. She had been getting lucky so far, catching her mistakes and warning people in time, but she really needed help. Maybe she should tell Garrick everything she knew, of all the people in this world that could possible objectively observe and comment on everything, Garrick was the one person that could possibly understand.

She walked up to Krem, who was standing where she had left him, “Sorry about that, had a sudden thought and had to talk to Josephine abooot it,” Krem smiled back at her and held out his arm for her to grasp it again.

She led him through Haven and around in what seemed to be a really big semi-circle to the tavern, they entered the tavern to see a red haired dwarf with his shirt opened wide revealing a chest full of hair that almost looked as if it were groomed sitting with two human males. One human was so pale he just looked white with long tendrils of white hair? It looked rough and Krem resisted the sudden urge he felt to touch the man’s hair. The next moment he was glad he hadn’t moved closer to the man, for he had blood red eyes, it unnerved him a bit how jovial he appeared versus how creepy his appearance was. The other male looked more normal, just like a bear and human had a child, his beard was tightly trimmed into points.

“Hey Tama, care to join us for lunch or are you two on a date,” the pale human teased at her.

She stuck her tongue out at him before responding, “Nah, this my buddy Krem and he is going to solve our problem of Cullen’s paranoia.” Her use of his nickname caught him off guard, he remembered that she was the seer Herald of Andraste and probably knew all about him, fuck she had pretty much told him as such.

“Alright then, hey Flis-” before Varric could finish his request for food for Nikki, she was already there with two plates of steaming food for everyone’s favorite mage.

“So, Krem, how about you tell us all about the message that your boss originally sent you here with.”

“You’re the seer, shouldn’t you already know,” he lightly teased at her, testing the waters. 

“Yes, I do know what your message is, and I’ll bet Varric that I can say it in unison with you.”

“Oh, no Tama. The last time I bet against a seer, I lost a literal boatload of gold to her thinking she was a sham.”

“I’ll take the bet,” Krem placed a single gold piece on the table between Nikki and him.

“Alright, ready, set go.”

“We got word of some Tevinter mercenaries working out on the storm coast. My company Commander, Iron Bull, offers the information free of charge. If you’d like to see what the Bull’s Chargers and do for the Inquisition, meet us there and watch us work.”

“We got word of some Tevinter mercenaries working out on the storm coast. My company Commander, Iron Bull, offers the information free of charge. If you’d like to see what the Bull’s Chargers and do for the Inquisition, meet us there and watch us work,” Nikki had even matched the inflection in his voice, “and it’s The Iron Bull, he likes the article in the front. Makes it sound like he’s not really a person, just this mindless weapon.”

Krem looked at her with a cross between shock, bewilderment, and a hint of fear. It was like his chief was sitting right next to him. 

“So who is this ‘Iron Bull’?” a quick glance at them told her that they remembered her answer to their question of what her ‘type’ was and had connected the dots.

Nikki laid her head down between her arms with a groan as Krem answered, “He’s one of those Qunari, the big guys with the horns. He leads from the front, pays well, and he’s a lot smarter than the last bastard I worked for. Best of all he’s professional, we accept contracts with whoever makes the first real offer. You’re the first time he’s gone out of his way to pick a side.”

“Well, what do you think, Nikki,” Garrick looked at her challengingly and she raised her head to look at him before smiling sweetly.

“He is gonna be great added muscle for protecting us in Val Royeaux and Cullen can relax on that front.” 

Krem watched the exchange and was reminded of the arguments that always broke out between Skinner and Stitches. If it weren’t for the fact that Skinner was with Cara, he would have suggested that they get a room. 

“Don’t even let your mind go there Krem, I am not sleeping with Garrick and God willing I never will, no offence,” Nikki seemed to read his mind, which unnerved him, had she seen into his head.

“None taken and remind me to always play wicked grace with you Krem,” Garrick prodded.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re wearing your heart on your sleeve kid,” Varric offered in way of explanation. He finally caught the hint and blushed. 

“It’s alright, Krem. By the way, we will be heading that way day after tomorrow, you wanna stick around and travel with us?”

“No, sorry I’m supposed to head back as soon as I deliver the message,” Krem began to stand as if to leave.

“Oh no you don’t. You have been standing outside the Chantry all morning haven’t you?” He looked to the other three men for a bit of support, but the all held up their hands in defeat.

“And I’ll bet you rode here in 4 days instead of the normal week, which means you rode through the night a couple times didn’t you?” He looked at her, unnerved by her accuracy.

“So first, you are going to eat that lunch. Then you are going to send a message to your chief,telling him that the Inquisition will not let you leave until you and your horse have had adequate rest, is that understood,” the hard look in her eye and a quick glance around told him that everyone in that tavern would stop him from leaving at her request so he nodded his agreement and she seemed to calm immediately. He dutifully ate his meal and walked with Nikki up to the front of the Chantry and to the tent that was set up just outside of it with a multitude of birds and bird cages. 

“Hey, Leli, Krem needs to send a message to the storm coast, would you mind sending a letter to Scout Harding for him and make sure to tell her it’s for his chief, The Iron Bull.”

“That should not be a problem, Herald. Do you intend for us to hire them,” Leliana’s eyes conveyed their hidden meaning to Nikki.

“The Iron Bull will be a great asset and the Chargers are worth every penny,” Lelianna had heard her use the term ‘penny’ and after they had talked about it, she understood what Nikki meant in her use of it.

“Very well, we’ll talk later,” thus requesting that Nikki divulge more details later. Nikki nodded her agreement and waited while Krem wrote the message he was supposed to with a few comments of his own. He handed it straight to Lelianna who nodded and folded it up and sent it off with one of her birds.

Nikki led Krem out of Lelianna’s tent and down the path, all the way to Dennet and the horses. She asked him how long it would take for Krem’s horse to rest enough for a hard ride back to the Storm Coast. Krem looked at her questioningly.

“I’m not stupid, I know that with me delaying you the way I am, that you are going to do a hard ride back to the Coast to your chief like he wanted you to do in the first place, but this way Stitched won’t be bitching at you for catching a cold.”

Krem grew wary of her again, “What all do you know about the Chargers?”

She looked thoughtfully out over the lake as she answered, “Grim doesn’t talk much, Dalish isn’t a mage, Rocky is trying to make gaatlok, Stitches is your healer, Skinner likes being paid to kill ‘shems’, and I know he lost his eye when he met you.”

“That’s quite a bit,” Krem knew that Chief wouldn’t like someone knowing so much about them without even meeting them. 

“I had the option to learn more about The Iron Bull and his Chargers and I did,” Nikki shrugged as she sat on a nearby crate.

“Why?”

“You guys were funny and treated each other like family and I wished I had more friends I could treat like that,” she kept her gaze out across the lake.

Krem nodded in understanding and they sat together and talked as the afternoon turned to evening and he had teased her as he had watched her riding lesson with Blackwall, but had also offered some hints and techniques that he had learned. As they talked, Krem realized why everyone in the tavern had looked ready to jump him at her command. She genuinely cared about everyone and tried to help as many people as she could. Horse lessons had ended about mid afternoon and she had taken him with her to heal some of the wounded and sick. She had made sick children feel better about being healed with magic by singing the same song over and over with each child and with each hurt.

“Flower, gleam and glow, let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine, what once was mine.” She seemed to have infinite patience and when she finally left the healer's tent she apologized to him for taking so long.

“No need to apologize. I’ve seen too many leaders leading from the back, unwilling to get in the thick of things.”

“Oh, I’m no leader. I’m just someone who wants to help and has a means of doing so, just a little too well.”

“How do you mean?”

“Well, for example, if I were to heal say your Chief, The Iron Bull,” Krem caught a slight hitch to her voice that caught on his chief’s name, “I would probably regenerate his eye and completely heal his ankle, which he wouldn’t like so I would leave his healing to either Solas or Stitches.”

“Uh huh, so you’re a seer and super healer?”

Nikki shrugged and led them to the Tavern where he ate with her. Varric, Blackwall, Garrick, and a bald elven mage introduced as Solas joined them and Krem shared stories with Garrick and Blackwall while Varric took notes and Nikki sat and listened to every story with rapt attention. Krem noticed that Solas watched Nikki almost exclusively and noted it for later as he enjoyed his evening. As it grew darker, Krem began to wonder where Nikki would think of to have him sleep. 

“Tent or cabin?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Would you feel more comfortable sleeping in a tent or a cabin?”

“Cabin,” Krem answered Nikki’s question confused.

“Alright, you will sleep in my bed in my cabin I share with Garrick and I’ll sleep in the tents,” all five men rose to object this arrangement until Nikki raised her hand, silently calling for quiet, “I have a purpose for sleeping in the tents other than letting Krem use my bed, this way the bed won’t be empty.”

“Well if you aren’t gonna sleep in it why can’t I?” Garrick almost whined at Nikki.

“You are the one who won’t kick him out of your bed, you are losing a territory battle over your bed to a dog,” she had spoke this last part with a tone that suggested a deeper meaning than just man versus dog, “you are gonna have to fight that battle if you want a bed to sleep in.”

“So what purpose do you have for sleeping in a tent?”

Nikki shrugged, “sex.”

“What?! With who,” Garrick almost looked ready to kill before Nikki calmly looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Does it matter? I am an adult, an adult that needs to let off steam once in awhile,” Nikki spoke calmly as if she were speaking to a child. Varric and Blackwall teased Garrick over his protectiveness over Nikki and Krem was struck by the similarities between her and the chief.

When the time came for them all to split up for the night, Garrick gave Nikki a long hug before she made her way to Haven’s gate. Krem followed Garrick to the cabin and hesitated as Garrick stripped down to his underclothes before looking back at Krem to see him still standing in his armor.

“What, forgot how to take your armor off?”

“No, it’s just that,” Krem’s unease made Garrick take a second look at Krem. He noticed how the young lieutenant’s armor seemed to be thicker in the upper torso, too thick to be armor padding. Krem was passing as male. 

Garrick shrugged and waved off his question, “Never mind man, good night.” 

He then made sure that Krem saw his eyes shut and kept them closed as he heard Krem finally get undressed and crawl into Nikki’s bed. Garrick lay there and think for a moment. Nikki probably knew that Krem was passing, she also probably knew that he wouldn’t make a big deal out of it and would notice that Krem was passing. Which if the first two probablys were right that meant that she probably knew about his other form and that he could switch between the two. 

Garrick continued to think about Nikki until he fell asleep and when he awoke the next morning, he was not surprised at Krem’s disappearance and went about getting ready for the day. Krem headed back on the road later that morning and the plan to head to the Storm Coast before heading to Val Royeaux was solidified.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 86801 words; 197 pages; So I had my girlfriend do a tarot reading of Nikki and Bull. Nikki's card was The Chariot and the picture for the card was a freaking dragon okay. Bull's card like attacked me before I had a chance to pull it out and it was The Sun, the picture for that card was a freaking UNICORN. I still can't get over the imagery.


	12. Chapter 12

The day to leave arrived and Nikki was loathe to break the news that she didn’t want to take Dal to Dal, but she went to Cullen and asked him to keep Dal company. Dal wasn’t happy about being left behind, but he had taken a liking to Cullen so it wasn’t that hard of a blow.

“Alright Dal, you be good for the Commander,” Dal sighed at her words and slumped himself to the floor of Cullen’s tent. Cullen wrapped an arm around her shoulders and turned her to face him, he placed a hand on her chin and tilted her face up to his, gently he molded his lips to hers in a deep kiss.

“You be careful, don’t take any unnecessary risks. Come back safely,” Nikki smiled and rolled her eyes at him.

“Yes mother, I’ll make sure to use Blackwall, Garrick and Cassandra for the meat shields they are and stick back with Solas and Varric,” she teased at him to keep the situation light, but she didn’t miss the look of longing that crossed his eyes. 

“I’ll be back before you know it Cullen.”

He nodded at her before releasing her and allowing her to leave his tent, he followed her and watched her get onto her horse at the stables across the way. Taldaram had joined him at his tent entrance and they watched as she left through the gate of the valley to begin her three week journey to the capital.

The first few days were uneventful as they traveled, every night Nikki would roll off her horse in a controlled boneless fall that didn’t hurt. It just concerned everyone around her that watched her do it the first few times. They were two days ride from Jader when Garrick called for camp early, Nikki glanced around them and looked at him questioningly. Garrick said nothing. Instead he nodded to Varric, who grasped her arm gently and led her away.

“We’re gonna gather firewood, kay Seeker,” he called to Cassandra who nodded to him with a hidden meaning. Once they were out of sight of camp, Varric led her off the road and quietly explained that some bandits had started following them about half a mile back. Her face immediately grew serious as she gripped her Nodachi and cast her eyes about, looking for any hidden assailants. Varric circled them back around to camp to an area where they would not be seen by the bandits that had approached their group.

“Oye, what do we have ‘ere, some folk who play at being hero,” one of the men taunted from his horse.

Garrick fought a smile from his face, “Who’s playing.”

“Oh, lookie here Marvin, this one’s got balls.”

“Aim for the horses, they’ll trample everyone if given the chance,” Varric nodded his agreement at her assessment and readied a bolt.

“What business do you have here, you stopped to talk to us and attempt at intimidation. What is it you want?” Cassandra asked of them irritatedly.

“What we want missey is a piece of that fine woman that walked off with the dwarf, where did they head off to? Hope it wasn’t to fuck, I wanted a piece of that-”

Garrick launched himself at who had been speaking and pulled the man off his horse. Varric, Blackwall, and Cassandra didn’t get a chance to do anything before Garrick reappeared swinging the disembodied arm of the man he had tackled off his horse. The blood that sprayed from the arm splattered cross Garrick and the other bandits before he roared at them.

Nikki stood in awe as she witnessed first hand a Barbarian’s rage, Garrick literally tore through one bandit after the other. She came to first to see that Cassandra, Blackwall, Solas, and Varric all were staring at Garrick as if he were some sort of demon. Nikki broke the spell that seemed to hold them as she walked slowly up to Garrick and began singing. 

Varric glanced to the other two warriors and Solas and he saw the fear in their eyes and knew that it was mirrored in his own. Cassandra had seen a glimpse of this rage on the path up to the Breach, but he had never let go of control while in the Hinterlands. Nikki kept her voice low and soothing, she saw him coming down from his rage and kept walking slowly to him. Solas watched Garrick warily as Nikki walked slowly towards him as if he were a frightened Halla and kept at the ready incase she needed him.

They watched as Garrick calmed and relaxed his stance. Nikki reached him and drew him immediately into a hug and just stood there holding him. Finally he wrapped his arms around her, returning her hug.

“Well, shit,” Varric spoke as he walked out of the trees after Nikki, “remind me not to joke about sex with Tama in front of you.” Garrick smiled gratefully at his joke, he knew that they hadn’t really seen a barbarian in action, nothing had warranted a full rage, but when they had talked about raping Nikki, he just lost it.

“Yeah, no one messes with Tama,”Garrick him back and the spell seemed to be broken, but he kept a protective arm wrapped around her shoulder as she left his embrace.

“Yes, well now we are left to camp early,” Cassandra moved to continue setting up camp and Nikki saw the nervousness that she tried to keep out of her body movements.

Garrick noticed this as well and began to move to follow Cassandra before Nikki held him back, “Let her process things on her own.”

They made their camp and settled in for the night with no other eventful things happening. Nikki lay in her tent that night and silently cursed her having to ride her horse all day and let herself have a moment of feeling like she never wanted to walk or ride a horse again. She knew that her momentary feeling wasn’t going to do her any good, she would just have to start all over tomorrow, but it made her feel better in that moment.The next few days left Nikki still sore in her saddle and it was starting to affect her mood, the others had noticed this and tried to go out of their way to go out of their way to accommodate her. However, every time they tried, she would stop them and yell at them before continuing on their way. The day arrived that they were to meet up with The Iron Bull and his chargers. Nikki couldn’t keep the smile off her face. She was in the middle of pouring rain, which she loved, and she was about to see The Iron Bull in person. The others noticed her change in demeanor and were curious about it.

“So Tama, what has you in such a happy mood,” Varric sidled up to her.

“I love the rain,” she spoke simply with the ever present grin on her face.

“And?”

“And nothing Varric, not everything has an angle.”

They began to hear sounds of fighting as they moved closer to the coast. Nikki’s grin got impossibly bigger as what they assumed to be The Iron Bull and his Chargers were fighting on the Coast. The more experienced members of the group watched the group fight and were impressed. Solas watched Nikki closely and saw that she only had eyes for the gigantic Qunari hurling his axe around as if he were a deadly spinning top.

Nikki watched Bull as he sliced through ‘Vint after ‘Vint suddenly her heart stopped in her chest when Bull stopped his spin and a ‘Vint warrior was coming up behind him, a whispered, “Bull,” was Solas’ only warning before Nikki stretched her arm out and she snapped a barrier around the Qunari Mercenary.

Bull felt the barrier snap around him, he knew the feeling of Dalish’s not magic and knew it didn’t come from her. His eye scanned the top of the hill nearby and saw what appeared to be representatives of the Inquisition watching his chargers work, all of them except a hunched over figure that was being supported by what looked to be a bald elf. Bull went back to the fight when he noticed a ‘Vint hacking at his backside without him even feeling it, quite the barrier indeed.

“Chargers! Stand down,” Bull shouted out as he saw the last of the ‘Vints fall, “Krem! How’d we do?”

“Five or six wounded chief, no dead.”

“That’s what I like to hear. Let throatcutters finish up, then break out the casks,” Krem nodded the affirmative as the representatives of the Inquisition walked up. Their group split up and a man that could only be described as white walked over followed by a red haired beauty that Bull made sure to take note of her. As soon as his eyes landed on her face, he froze. It wasn’t often that people surprised him, and no amount of Ben-Hassrath training could have prepared him to see the girl literally out of his dreams. 

Bull cleared his throat and spoke to the pair, “So you’re with the Inquisition, huh?” Glad you could make it. Come on, let's sit and talk while we wait for a drink.”

Garrick, who had been weary of the man that Nikki was so ready to defend, nearly jumped at the idea of having a drink, “that sounds like a great idea. Bull, I take it?”

“Well, you wouldn’t be taking it unless you wanted to,” Nikki giggled at his joke and Bull’s attention went to the woman before him before the pale human spoke again.

“Ha ha, well it’s a relief that you can make a joke. I think I was going mad listening to our group, maybe now we can have some humor. What do you think Tama?”

Bull started at the use of the shortened word for Tamassran, he looked at the woman once more with a critical eye. He was sure that she was the one that put the barrier around him, so there was no way she could be a Tamassran. 

“I’m not, by the way,” Bull narrowed his eyes, while Garrick looked confused.

“Varric calls me Tama as a shortened name for Tamassrans, they are kind of like Qun mothers and healers, essentially,” she looked to Bull for confirmation to which he nodded numbly. Who the hell was this woman?

Thankfully Krem walked up and offered a change in subject, “I assume you remember Cremisius Aclassi, my Lieutenant.”

“Good to see you again,” Krem nodded in Nikki and Garrick’s direction before turning to Bull, “Throatcutters are done chief.”

“Already, have ‘em check again. I don’t want any of those Tevinter bastards getting away. No offence Krem,” Bull teased at Krem. He kept watch on the two beside him to gauge their reactions. 

“None taken, at least a bastard knows who his mother was, puts him one up on you Qunari, right?” Krem smiled at Nikki’s giggle and turned to do as he was ordered. 

Bull allowed himself a chuckle before turning back to business, “So, you’ve seen us fight, we’re expensive, but we’re worth it. And I’m sure the Inquisition can afford us.”

Garrick’s brow furrowed, “How much would this cost me exactly?”

“Wouldn’t cost you anything personally, unless you wanted to buy drinks later. Your Ambassador, what's her name, Josephine? We’d go through her and get the payments set up. The gold will take care of itself, don’t worry about that, all that matters is we’re worth it.”

“The Chargers seem like an excellent company,” Garrick spoke noncommittally, it seems that the lessons that Josephine and Lelianna insisted Garrick participate in were paying off. 

“They are, but you’re not just getting the boys. You’re getting me. You need a frontline bodyguard, i’m your man. Whatever it is, Demons, Dragons? The bigger the better,” at this point Bull got up and Nikki had to fight to keep her squeal of excitement from escaping and he eyed her as he got up and walked away from his rock for a moment. “And there’s one other thing. Might be useful, might piss you off. Ever hear of the Ben-Hassrath?”

“Nope, Tama,” Garrick turned to Nikki expectantly. 

“Yes, but I would rather hear it from someone who knows about them first hand.”

Garrick nodded at Nikki’s explanation, “I had heard there was a seer among you guys, I take it that’s you?”

Garrick watched as Nikki swallowed nervously at the observation, Bull noticed this as well and wondered at the pair. They seemed to have no problem with his appearance and if his senses were correct, the female was seriously turned on in his presence. They seemed to place more value on actions and intentions, which garnered a great amount of positivity from him. 

“Yeah, she’s our seer, but to get to her you’d have to go through the entire Inquisition, then you’d have to face me,” Garrick spoke with a dark look on his face that promised horrible things to the man that even looked in the woman’s direction wrong.

“Noted, but the Ben-Hassrath are a Qunari order, they handle information, loyalty, security, all of it. Spies basically, or well, we’re spies. The Ben-Hassrath are concerned about the Breach. Magic out of control like that could cause trouble everywhere. I’ve been ordered to join the Inquisition, get close to the people in charge, and send reports on what’s happening.”

Garrick looked infinitely more suspicious of Bull before he explained further, “But I also get reports from Ben-Hassrath agents from all over Orlais. You sign me on, I’ll share them with your people.”

“Okay, now that the sales pitch is done I have a few issues, First off You’re a Qunari spy and you just out and tell us?” Garrick asked incredulously.

“Whatever happened at that conclave thing, it’s bad. Someone needs to get that Breach closed. So whatever I am, I’m on your side.”

“For now,” if Bull and Garrick hadn’t had sensitive hearing, they wouldn’t have heard Nikki’s whispered comment. As it was, they both heard her and turned their attention to her.

“What do you mean?” Garrick ignored Bull for a moment.

Nikki glanced between the tall men and took a steadying breath, finally she looked straight at Bull and he got the feeling that she saw through him, rather than at him. “As it stands right now, if the Qun demanded that I die, would you kill me?”

Bull knew better than to lie to the woman staring at him, in that moment he understood why they called her Tama. “Yes.” He also wondered as to why the Qun would want her dead.

Nikki nodded as if she knew that to be the answer he would give, “For now our interests align, and if nothing else I know him well enough that i’ll be able to see if he’ll betray us. It would be unwise to turn down the offer of the Chargers.”

Bull felt unnerved by the amount of truth that he felt in her words, she was a seer and if anyone could see through him, it would be her. She was also right, if the Qun demanded that she die, he would kill her. Dream or no dream.

“Second, we hire you on, you won’t be my bodyguard,” Nikki’s head whipped around to look at Garrick incredulously, “You’ll be hers.”

Bull nodded his acceptance while Nikki exploded, “Are you fucking kidding me? I have not been training for two months straight, just to be sidelined and let my bodyguard be my meat shield.”

“You seem to be okay with meat-shields on this trip.”

“Yeah, this is a one-time thing while I still suck. You are talking about hiring him to be my bodyguard for the lifetime of the Inquisition!”

“Is that a problem?” Garrick seemed too cocky to be just teasing her.

Nikki narrowed her eyes at him, “Fuck, you remember the first night back from Haven?”

“Yep,” Bull noticed that Garrick definitely knew something he didn’t and was driving the woman nuts with it.

“You connected the dots?”

“Not that hard, Varric figured it out after he heard Bull’s name, Blackwall and Cassandra haven’t picked up on it yet.”

“God fucking damnit, Jesus fuckign tap-dancing fucking christ, I knew I shouldn’t have agreed to that game.” Bull raised an eyebrow at the exchange and had settled back down on a rock. He seemed to be content to watch them bicker until the woman stormed off in the direction of his Lieutenant.

“Thirdly, anything you send back to your superiors will go through Lelianna first, you send nothing without her approval.”

Bull smiled, “I wouldn’t have it any other way. Krem! Tell the men to finish drinking on the road. The Charger’s just got hired.”

“What about the casks, Chief? We’ve just opened them up, with axes.”

“Find someway to seal them. You’re Tevinter, right? Try Blood Magic. You’ll be heading on to Haven, I’ll be heading on with the Heralds.”

“Great! I’m Garrick, warrior Herald. Tama over there messing with your casks is the mage seer Herald. Varric is the dwarf with the crossbow. Solas is the bald elf over there, he’s a mage. Cassandra is the woman over there that seems to have resting bitch face syndrome,” Bull laughed at the description of the warrior woman, “and Blackwall is the bear of a man over there.”

“So where are we heading boss,” Bull asked of Garrick.

“Val Royeaux, we Heralds are answering the claims that we had anything to do with Divine Justinia’s death. Lot of fuss over one dead person.”

“Agreed, you must not be from around here.”

“Very astute mr. Ben-Hassrath spy,” Garric teased Bull.

“So where are you from, same place as your Tama?”

“Nah, she knows way too much about me to be from where I’m from, I’ve caught her mumbling stuff to herself like, ‘Garrick has as strength of 26, that means Blackwall would have around a 17’ weird stuff like that, I’ve never been able to make heads or tails of it and whenever I ask her what it means, she clams up and changes the subject.”

“So, where were you from? You didn’t say.”

“You’re right, he didn’t,” Nikki walked up and eyed Garrick in warning. So he wasn’t supposed to talk about where he’s from, okay Bull could work with that.

The group made their way to the horses nearby and Bull noticed that Nikki winced as she got onto her horse, “not used to riding for long periods of time, tama,”

“No, I’m not. The name is Nikki or Nikita, it feels weird to have you call me ‘Tama’. Besides there’s nothing I can do about it, so why bother complaining,” this woman kept peaking his interest with everything she told him. 

Bull nodded a moment and looked at each mount, he saw a horse that was larger than the rest that had been set aside for him he supposed, he quickly mounted it and rode the horse over to where Nikki was rubbing at certain spots. He came up beside her and grasped her around her waist, he pulled her out of her saddle with a squeal. 

“You’ll be more comfortable here than in your saddle,” he placed her easily in his lap to where she was cradled within his arms and she was cocooned in his arms. He wanted to know who she was and what she had to do with the woman in his dreams. He knew that the woman in his dreams liked to be cocooned and ‘trapped’ in small spaces. At first Nikki froze in her new position, but then she relaxed into his embrace and leaned her head on his shoulder.

“You put me here, I may as well be comfortable,” Nikki seemed a bit more than just comfortable, she seemed content and Bull filed away the information for later. 

The group travelled along the road to Jader, the nearest port city, where they would catch a boat to Val Royeaux. They had met up with Bull only a few hours ride away from the town, but by the time they got to Jader, Nikki had fallen asleep.

“She has had trouble sleeping lately,” the elf, Solas, rode next to Bull. 

Solas kept his eyes on the woman in his arms and Bull glanced down at her, “what kind of trouble?”

“Nightmares, I think they are memories from her past. She’s been waking upset and calling for Dal or someone named ‘Ellie’.”

It seemed odd that someone accosted with nightmares would fall asleep so peacefully in his arms. Bull stared thoughtfully out at the road ahead and Solas spurred his horse onward so as to not disturb her slumber.

“Mmm, Bull,” she suddenly whispered in her sleep and turned her head to nuzzle into the crook of his neck. The action felt familiar and her voice sounded just like Asala’s, but how could he have possibly dreamt of a woman before he met her. He let her sleep that way all the way to the docks and even stayed mounted until Garrick had come back out of the dockmaster’s office. 

“Varric is finishing up negotiations. Loathe as I am to do it, she needs to wake up so we can get on the boat. The horses will be taken care of by Inquisition representatives that are stationed here.”

“Time to wake up, Nikki,” Bull whispered low in the ear he could reach. Her response was immediate, he felt her eyes open immediately and she groaned a minute later. 

“Are we at the boat?”

“Yeah, good nap?”

Nikki felt her face warm at the fact that she had fallen asleep wrapped up in Bull’s arms, “Yeah, it was nice.”

Bull let a smirk grace his features and he lifted her off his horse into Garrick’s waiting arms. Once she was settled on the ground, Bull lumbered off his horse with a grace that belied his size. They handed off the horses to Inquisition representatives that were waiting for them and headed to the ship that Josephine had set up for them to take to Val Royeaux. The only problem was that there had been a sudden change in plans. The ship they were to take was no longer available since it had been sunk by pirates and they had had to change ships.

“I will not allow a woman onto my ship sir,” the captain of their new ship argued with Varric. Cassandra whispered something to Varric and walked off with the captain. 

A few moments later the captain returned with Cassandra and he addressed the group, “the women will be allowed on board so long as they stay below deck, if you want to wait for a more female friendly ship you can wait a week for The Nautilus to return from Kirkwall.”

“That is the most agreeable terms that I could convince him of, he knows that we are on a time-limit and that we need to get to Val Royeaux,” Cassandra spoke to the group after the captain had departed. 

Varric and Garrick nodded, accepting this answer and moved to put their supplies onto the boat. Nikki stood rooted to her spot before the boat, deep in thought at Cassandra’s words. Everyone else of the group kept going except for The Iron Bull. He kept watch over Nikki until she seemed come to a decision and made her way onto the boat. She immediately made her way to the lower levels and claimed a hammock for herself and still silent she crawled into the hammock she had chosen. Bull watched her as she lay there for a moment before she promptly fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/YaYA61arcWpPovRzdrDx04HumEP1OeLRUmVA65-L06ts1Fib0E7mhUoOfc06l2aUozTnC7Mg5iDdlWpUzQoFWdsPrgmAra0-0j3ApNufpde24Y-OTOx7CRso6h3bedsDsAawxKhOlQ8MZtr-pM-yZZLkQKfdrfCNWS_rqXJ4LxOcmdz2o0WrZTZnmhZuskbT7ioVtchH2sae9GCrcZ1Zl9Q_FZc3NJRPnhisnMg20QD4Pmco6gKm9SeTIbRx2fZb5O8e7dOoob_gRUTIknOf7c8niNFBtqzvFBrFpDwebbg-pT7mIBRg_rd5ctmAIunX_Mcqv7LAFKfIZ_6h-DuOLnO94gknjYGBWOz4Lt2eCGEo0IVzkXQvwTAxaDNhorEb-lMCE0jq7xUyd7qfRHmeUQvMwHWqAoM0b-68KqqxeDVOtYaLykbMo3vqKGSiXi-xNkw6lHOmmpLsKLPLoScYP6Gqhzl9cFIxf0TPo1Nx1CPixSKK7vWqKYbRzO3x7ci-OKUSQqukEwhW4Oi__HTkqHl2kYgHn80v_DUhul-Ird1Y8MVwUSouCJ_QJZd767q67ZYvJJ2NKlqvJ_gZYjTFo04zN5N1F2FcnmWB5azx2o-5XtXoj1WP=w883-h662-no
> 
> So this is the picture of the Tarot cards mentioned last chapter, just copy and paste into the address bar to see it.


	13. Chapter 13

It wasn’t until they were a little over a week into their journey that Garrick noticed that Nikki was acting oddly. She seemed to sleep all day long, but when he got up in the middle of the night to empty the contents of his stomach for what seemed to be the thousandth time, he noticed that Nikki’s hammock was empty and The Iron Bull was nowhere to be seen in the area. He went up to the surface of the ship and saw Bull standing against one of the ships masts.

“Can’t sleep, Boss?” Came the greeting from the hulking Qunari.

“Sea sick, you?”

“Nah, I don’t get sea sick.” Garrick nodded accepting the answer.

“You seen Tama?”

“Yep,” Bull nodded his head upward to indicate her position. Garrick looked up in the direction indicated and saw a pair of feet poking out over the side of the crow’s nest at the top of the mast.Garrick smiled at her and decided to leave her to her night. 

“Bull,” Nikki stage-whispered down to him after Garrick had headed back down to sleep.

“Yeah,” he called up to her.

“You wanna come join me?” her voice seemed to sound vulnerable. Without another thought he began climbing the mast up to her hideout.

“What’s going on?” He pulled his head above the rim of the crow’s nest and saw her lying on her back with her legs draped over the rim of the crow’s nest.

“I just didn’t want to be alone,” Bull climbed over the edge and settled himself with his back resting against the railing.

“You must have heard the Boss,” Nikki knew the question that he wasn’t asking.

“I did, but he sees me as a replacement mom. I can’t show any weakness to him,” Bull noticed the tear streaks that lined her face and the moon was suddenly uncovered by the clouds and he saw that her eyes were rimmed with red.

“You want to talk about it or just want company?”

Nikki sighed so heavily it sounded like a cross between a sigh and a sob, “I don’t know, I’m just missing home and if I talk about home when I know that I can never return, then what’s the point?”

“Why can’t you ever return?”

“Well, I’d have to be very drunk and alone in order to answer that one to you,” he noticed that she kept her eyes fixed on the sky above them.

“What have you been doing up here then?”

“Charting stars,” Bull had noticed all the papers that she had been hauling up and down the mast every night.

“Why?”

“Just in case,” Nikki spoke cryptically.

“In case of what?”

“In case I ever get lost and can’t find my way, I’m not naive enough to think that it wouldn’t be a useful skill and back home I found it comforting to make pictures in the stars, playing connect the dots,” she shrugged and sat herself upright from her lying position and pointed up at one particularly bright star to the North, “I’ve decided that one is my Northern Star here, the last 3 weeks it hasn’t moved from a northern direction so it’s as close to True North as I’m going to get without a compass.”

“You seriously would do this for fun back home?”

“Not a lot of friends, remember,” Nikki sighed, “I know what you’re doing.”

“Oh, and what am I doing?”

“You're trying to distract me from missing home.”

“Is it working?”

“A little, but it won’t solve anything.”

“Not right now, but since you won’t tell me why you can’t ever return home...” he let the statement hang between them until she spoke again.

“I’m from a landlocked area. I grew up surrounded by corn fields and wishing I could see the ocean every day. I moved to the coast about six months before I came to Thedas. There, happy?”

“I thought you didn’t want to talk about your home.”

“Never said that, I said I didn’t know what I wanted to do, I feel like I’m caught between a rock and a hard place, if I don’t talk about home, then I’ll just keep thinking about it. But, if I talk about it, then would that make me miss home more or would it help me get over not going home.”

“You’ve thought about this for a while.”

“Nah, just tonight. I have a tendency to overthink a lot of things really fast.”

“Hmm, sounds to me like you should talk about it so that you at least know the answer to the second bit of your dilemma.”

Nikki swing her legs off the rail and sat cross legged to face Bull, “are you digging for information about your protected charge for you or for the Qun,” her face suddenly serious.

“Does it matter,” Bull almost swallowed nervously before his Ben-Hassrath training kicked in and he had a moment to think, why was he so nervous.

“It does to me, you were ordered to get close to those in charge and suddenly the ‘warrior’ Herald of Andraste orders you to be my bodyguard. If I were a spy, I would want to get to know about the woman I was ordered to protect specifically so as to find her weakness to use against her to use her against Garrick.”

“I see, I take it this all just occurred to you just now?”

“No, this one I have been thinking about since Garrick ordered you to be my bodyguard.”

“So am I fishing for information, or are you?”

Nikki smiled a small smile before she continued, “tell you what, you ask a question and then I ask one.”

“Hmm, okay, but if I think you’re lying, then you have to do an action of my choosing.”

Nikki’s smiled devolved into a smirk, “same goes for you, Bull.”

Bull smirked at her now before he nodded his agreement, “since I've been asking so many questions tonight, you go first.”

“Alrighty then,” Nikki thought it over for a moment, “Let’s start off easy, why The Iron Bull?”

From her tone Bull noticed something, “You already know the answer.”

“Aye, but I want to hear you talk about it.”

“Well, growing up under the Qun, there are no names, just a series of numbers or titles. So I thought about it, I really like hitting things. I like that you made sure to put the article in the front, it makes it sound like I’m not even a person, just a mindless weapon, an implement of destruction, that really works for me.”

Nikki smiled at his answer, “thank you for humoring me.”

“My turn, what are your parents like?”

“Straight to the heart of the matter. Well, my dad was a preacher, umm kind of like a Chantry mother. He preached to the masses a message on the interpretation of a book called the Bible. The Bible was the religious text for us, he always told us kids that no matter who was preaching at the pulpit to always look up and verify what was being preached. Even and especially if it was him that was preaching.”

“Us kids?”

Nikki shook her head, “nope, one question at a time and you asked me about my parents.”

Bull noticed how hard she stuck to the rules of their game and nodded for her to continue, “my mom was kind of like Lelianna. There was usually a reason she did things the way she did, even if you couldn’t see it right away. She worked for a courier service and always made time for us kids to talk to her about anything. I remember lying on the bed with my mom and we would talk about everything, from the book she was reading to the pros and cons of certain soaps.

“You miss her.”

Nikki could feel the tears welling in her eyes again, but there was a little less pain in her heart from them. It felt good to talk about her family, even if she couldn’t necessarily say the names of things. That made things hard, but not impossible and helped to distance her from the subject matter a little. 

She nodded, “my turn, Bull. What was your number under the Qun?”

Bull gave her an odd look before he answered, “Unit 8472 Designation 24601, so the full number would be 8472.24601.”

She seemed to stop all movement, including breathing and just when he was beginning to grow concerned, she blinked at him owlishly before she threw her head almost to her lap and muttered to herself, “you've got to be fucking kidding me.”

“Okay, so ‘us kids’ you have siblings?”

She took a moment to gather herself together before she answered, “I have a brother and a sister. My brother is three years older than me and my sister is 10 years older than me.”

“Any details on them?”

“Not right now please,” her heart ached at the thought of her siblings.

“Alright, your turn.”

They talked all the way until the sun rose and when Nikki finally noticed this she cursed to herself, “Shit.”

“Yeah, you normally make your way back down before sunrise.”

“Yeah, now I have to either get lucky and sneak past the captain who got up at sunrise, or I get to deal with his happy ass after being up all night.”

Bull nodded understandingly and heaved himself over the side of the nest after looking to make sure that no one was on their way up. He carefully made his way down and once he reached the bottom he looked up in time to see Nikki grasp a rope and swing herself down and landed impressively right in front of the captain who had just walked up to Bull.

“Good morning captain,” Nikki smiled brightly, any evidence of her crying gone from her face. She would have made a pretty good Ben-Hassrath agent, if she weren’t a saarebas that is. 

The captain scowled at her, “I thought I made myself perfectly clear, you women are to stay below deck for the duration of this voyage, that is after all what was agreed upon.”

Her face scowled and she glared at the captain, causing some of crew behind him to flinch, “it was not agreed upon by me. I’ve been hiding up there every night since we started this voyage and haven’t you noticed that the storm your people have been seeing on the horizon hasn’t come any closer to us.”

The captain narrowed his eyes at her, “You’re an apostate.”

“All mages are apostates now, Captain,” she said his title mockingly and the crew that had flinched suddenly took a step away from her.

“You telling me girlie that you have been keeping that storm from hitting us.”

“I could always stop,” there was a hard look in her eye as a loud crack of thunder was heard from their stern.

The captain drew closer to her, forcing her to look up at him, “you would put the lives of this ship at risk just so you wouldn’t have to stay below?!”

To Nikki’s credit she didn’t even flinch when some spittle landed on her cheek, “no, just yours. My barriers are beyond compare, your crew would be safe, but I wouldn’t necessarily have to protect you, now would I?”

The captain glared at her again before he addressed his crew, “the women will be allowed above deck if they so choose.”

“Thank you captain, you won’t regret this,” Nikki then led Bull away from the Captain to below deck so that she could sleep.

“Can you really control the weather?” Nikki noticed a hint of discomfort at the nature of her magical threat. 

She shrugged in response before speaking, “he don’t know that though.”

Bull guffawed at her bluff, “remind me not to play wicked grace against you.”

Nikki giggled in response before she reached her hammock and climbed into it, “By the way Cass, if you wanted to see Val Chevin, the Captain has agreed to allow us women folk up on deck.”

Cassandra looked at her bewildered before she rose and walked over, but Nikki was already asleep. Cassandra turned to Bull for an explanation, he just shrugged and went to his spot against the wall where he could see the only door into the area and Nikki’s sleeping form in her hammock. 

All seemed to be going just fine until around midday, when out of nowhere they were beseeched with a storm. The captain narrowed his eyes in superstitious suspicion at Cassandra. Cassandra had been helping to tie knots in ropes at certain lengths, she had shown a willingness to work that the captain had not experienced with women before, then just as he began to relax with a woman on the main deck this storm comes out of nowhere. 

He makes his way down to the main deck to order the seeker below deck when suddenly there is a earth-shattering scream coming from below deck. The other female. Before the Captain has a chance to reach the seeker, she bolts to the door to head below deck.

Cassandra makes her way below deck to where Nikki had been sleeping, if any harm had come to the girl. Cassandra shook her head to shake the thoughts that had entered her mind, Garrick, Varric, Solas, and Bull would not have allowed any harm to her. Though they had only known the Qunari a matter of hours before boarding the boat, he had seemed to take his duty seriously since. He hardly left Nikki’s side. Awake or asleep, he seemed to know what she suspected. 

Nikki would be very dangerous if she ever lost control of her magic. Cassandra herself had reservation about how quickly she had seemed to pick up on magic, despite the overflow of whatever she was trying to do. Cassandra arrived at the quarters that their party all shared and was shocked to see all the men in the hallway and the blue light of a barrier emanating from the room.

“What happened?”

“Solas was checking on her while she was sleeping and suddenly he was flown back and a barrier started growing from her. I grabbed Solas and left the room, Garrick arrived and he couldn’t get past it,” Bull reported.

“Is it like her other barriers?” asking if it hurt her if they attacked the barrier. Garrick nodded his head and rested his palm against the barrier as if it were a glass wall, Nikki moaned from inside the room and Garrick quickly removed his hand. 

“Is there nothing we can do?”  
Garrick thought for a moment before he looked at Bull and said, “you didn’t touch the barrier.”

“No, she just flew Solas across the room, didn’t want to touch unknown magic boss,” Bull spoke succinctly.

“Try,” Garrick moved to allow Bull access to the barrier wall. Bull looked at Garrick like he was insane, “trust me, try to touch her barrier, hell try to talk to her. With Solas out of commision, you’re our best bet.”

“This have anything to do with that conversation you two had on the beach?”

“You remember that? That was like a week ago,” Garrick eyed Bull,” but yeah.”

Bull moved to place his hand on the barrier as Garrick had done moments before, but where he expected resistance there was nothing. His hand passed through the barrier as if it weren’t there. Bull stared at his arm where the barrier cut off his hand and if he focused his senses to that area, then he could feel a slight tingling sensation. 

“On you go then,” Garrick gave him a slight shove and The Iron Bull walked through the glowing barrier, it had stopped growing the moment he walked through it. This level of trust from someone he had just met unnerved him a bit. He was factoring in the fact that she was a seer and had most likely had visions of him and probably had been curious about him. 

He would accept that at face value if not for the fact that she genuinely seemed to want to know about him last night. She had asked about whether or not horn balm was a thing and whether or not he had any. Never before had anyone, even inside the Qun, anticipated his needs, not to mention the fact of how accurate she was. 

“You need to lower your barrier, you’re safe here,” Bull reached her side and looked at her sleeping form, he raised his hand to her face and without thinking he spoke, “Asala, you need to calm yourself.”

Almost immediately her features, which had been twisted in silent torment, stilled and she leaned into his touch. Her response unnerved him more, who was she to trust and obey him so implicitly. It was clear from the group interactions that she didn’t let anyone else in. It seemed that the apostate Solas had once been through her defenses, but only for a moment.

Solas walked up next to him and slowly reached a hand forward, only to stop at her wince when he got within inches of her, “For two months I was her only confidant in the Fade as we slept, now she seems to reject me for you.”

Solas’ words piqued Bull’s interest, “What do you mean ‘as we slept’?”

“We linked our dreams, certain mages used to do this as commonly as you or I breathe.

Something in his tone spoke that he knew more about that than he let on, but that was for another time, “So if I were to go to sleep, then could you link our dreams.”

“So maybe you can see what started this, good thinking Bull,” Garrick caught on to the idea enthusiastically.

Solas’ brow furrowed in thought, “perhaps, but there may be a threat.”

“Ben-Hassrath training, I know how to fight mages, in… and out of the Fade,” Bull shifted uneasily, he had hated that part of the training, but now was grateful for it.

“Don’t try to kill her if you can help it,” Solas sneered at him.

Bull fought to not roll his eye at the mage, “just put me to sleep already.”

Bull’s hand left Nikki and she immediately began screaming. Bull put his hand back on Nikki and slowly gathered her up and out of the Hammock. He looked around him to see a mixture of expressions on the faces of the group. Cassandra, Varric, and Garrick looked worried, Solas looked like he wanted to hit something, and Blackwall looked at a loss as to what to do. Bull settled himself with Nikki in his arms in the back corner of the room. Once he was settled he nodded to Solas who put who fingers to his forehead and Bull was instantly asleep.

When he next opened his eyes he saw a very unfamiliar sight. It appeared to be a multi-tiered library, there were staircases and ladders that led up the shelves upon shelves of what appeared to be books. He walked up to one shelf and read the titles, NCIS, House, and Criminal Minds were some. They made no sense to him so he moved to another shelf which read Doctor Who, Star Trek, and Star Wars. Again the titles made no sense and before he moved to another shelf he saw a translucent figure standing in the middle of the room.

“Who are you?”

“I am called Dirthara by the Renan, you are The Iron Bull.”

“Where is she?” Bull focused his mind on summoning a weapon.

“This area is controlled by the Renan, nothing is created here without her approval,” the spirit warned and Bull narrowed his eyes in triumph as he felt a blade appear beneath his fingertips. The spirit seemed to regard him anew and spoke seriously, “You should be able to feel the Renan and be able to follow the link to her.”

“What do you mean the link to the Renan, am I linked to her?”

“Yes, I will admit that the first time was my fault, but I did not expect you and her to continue meeting.”

Bull started at the spirit’s words, however he did not have time to think further on it when suddenly a scream was heard. Dirthara seemed to be distressed, “they are trying to break her, she is holding out, but she ordered all of us spirits away from her. She didn’t want any of us getting hurt for her.”

Bull’s expression turned serious and he looked to the spirit, “How do I find her?”

“Remember her, all the time that you have spent with her here.”

“What do you mean, this is the first time that I’ve sought her out in the Fade, Solas used his magic to find her and drop me near her.”

“Are you sure that’s what has happened The Iron Bull?”

Bull looked at the spirit for a moment before his eye caught sight of a symbol that he recognized on the spine of one of the books. Bull eyed the spirit as he walked to the book with the symbol of the Qun on it and flipped to the middle.

The Iron Bull-  
-Won’t sacrifice his men for a cause he would not also sacrifice himself  
-Upfront and Honest  
-askdoo oiwekafj oaiwemnzi idsoamaosi  
-sciydk wodkde asokcheick asockjaoweifm  
-aksdfjaoidfjakdfn asjfoiawemoiw

After the first three lines the page became blurred and the letters were blurred together and became impossible to read. He turned the page to see more of the blurred and mixed up letters, it seemed that whatever this Renan knew of the Qunari didn’t want anyone reading. 

“You must track her by remembering her, only you have been allowed to seek her out in her dreams lately, Solas has tried many times and has failed. You are here because the Renan allowed it to be.”

Bull stopped looking around the large library and closed his eyes, he had only been dreaming of repeatedly of Asala, who looked exactly like Nikki. This spirit seemed to be calling Nikki Renan, which meant that she had linked their dreams, but the spirit said that only he had been allowed to seek her out. 

“What the hell is going on?”

“You must find the Renan, she needs you,” was all that was said before another scream echoed across the landscape.

Bull shook himself to center and closed his eyes and remembered every dream that he had had of Asala. He remembered talking with Nikki the evening before and began to walk. He opened his eye and went through door after door until he came to a chamber that was shrouded in shadow, he used that to his advantage as he moved to the edge of the room and saw Nikki strapped to a table in the middle of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and back to our regularly scheduled update. enjoy!!
> 
> 90131 words; 210 pages; about to start champions of the just


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bull shook himself to center and closed his eyes and remembered every dream that he had had of Asala. He remembered talking with Nikki the evening before and began to walk. He opened his eye and went through door after door until he came to a chamber that was shrouded in shadow, he used that to his advantage as he moved to the edge of the room and saw Nikki strapped to a table in the middle of the room.

“You are weak, Renan. You are too weak to change anything. You won’t be able to save anyone and they will all die.”

“You are so cliche, terror demon. Here’s a message for your boss, ‘if you’re going to make a legit pass me try a desire demon, Coryphi-shit’ think you can deliver that for me?”

Bull raised an eyebrow at her spirit, but remained hidden and was glad he did so when the Terror demon left and a Desire demon came from the shadows.

“Ask as you shall receive, Renan.” the distinctly female desire demon morphed into a male figure and soon he was looking at a mirror image of himself, “and don’t be so cliché as to say ‘I know you’re not him’, it’s so boring. I just like seeing you squirm and this from let's me do that, besides I am to try to convince you of a deal, nothing more.”

“There is nothing you could say that would make me take a deal with you,” Nikki stared at the demon defiantly as it summoned a chair and sat down to face her.

“You’re right. Right now there is nothing I can offer you to strike a deal, but when Coryphi-snit came to me with this idea, do you have any idea what kind of demon would agree to make a demon deal with the Renan? I’m not in it for him, he was a means to an end for me sweetheart, I’m in it for the long game. You may be seeing me pop in from time to time, gotta make appearances so you can call me…. Kenny.”

The demon morphed again and Bull looked into a face he didn’t recognize, but Nikki did. The face was long with sharp angles, he had spiked hair with 11 spikes, each with a bell on the end. The figure was male and seemed to be a thin, but muscular man who seemed to be as tall as he was. 

“Picked a face from my memory huh?”

“Means I had to have seen your library, right?” the demon had a deep gravely voice that had its own smoothness it seemed, “Yeah, while terror was in here showing you your worst memories, I was perusing your library, your spirit of knowledge, Dirthara. He was annoying, he kept telling me to leave, saying I wasn’t allowed. I was about to kill him when someone else appeared in your library.”

“Who?”

“Dunno, didn’t stick around to find out, just made the spirit not speak of me and left. Been here watching you ever since. Just like I'll be watching you until you give in and let me in.”

Suddenly the demon moved so fast that Bull nearly missed the movement, the demon went across the room and on top of her in seconds, “I couldn't help but see some of the fantasies with this one. Naughty, naughty, Renan.”

The demon nuzzled into her neck and she turned her face away from the demon, she moved her head as far forward as she could and brought her head back as hard as she could. The demon cried out and gripped his face. Bull took this moment to move forward swinging his axe at the demon. Suddenly the demon disappeared and Nikki was left on the table, most of her clothing had been torn off of her.

“Hey Bull, fancy meeting you here.”

“Hey Nikki, or are you called Renan?”

“Depends on who you ask, I take it you are the one the demon saw,” Nikki looked at her restraints thoughtfully for a moment.

“You want me to-” Bull never finished his question because the restraints that she had been in melted away as if they were ice melting into water, “Could you do that this whole time?”

“No, I needed him either adequately distracted or gone,” Nikki sat herself upright and began stretching her arms across her torso.

“Back to my question,” Bull persisted after she stood from the table.

“I take it you met Dirthara,” Nikki read Bull’s face for a moment, “what did he tell you?”

“How to find you in the Fade,” Bull abruptly looked away from Nikki and began walking out of the dungeon like room and Nikki began to follow while subtly leading them back to her sanctuary. 

Dirthara greeted them as they entered through a set of double doors and Nikki took a moment to appreciate the view, she had been adding to it from around the fade for months. She had quickly discovered that spirits of all kinds could enter her sanctuary in the beginning. Thus developing the need for a barrier supplied by spirits that wanted to help her such as Valor and Honor. The fact that demons had entered through her barriers was unnerving and made her want to figure out how it had happened.

“Renan, you have returned!” he sounded genuinely happy at her return. 

“We need to talk later, you may have some ideas as to how to help me with something,” Nikki walked over to Bull and as he turned to face her, she asked, “you ready to wake up?”

“Yeah, one hell of a lucid dream,” Bull grinned at her. Nikki nodded and turned her focus towards waking and taking him with her. 

She opened her eyes groggily, she was wrapped in something warm and she didn’t want it to end. Suddenly the warmth shifted and she realized that she was in fact curled in Bull’s lap wrapped up in his arms as he leaned against the side of the ship. She could feel a blush warming her face, but she refused to look away from the group that surrounded them. 

“What was all of that about,” Solas asked them upon waking. 

Almost immediately Nikki spoke, “really bad panic attack.”

Solas’ face immediately softened and he seemed to draw in on himself in thought for the time being.

Suddenly the captain burst into the cabin and looked directly at Nikki and stormed over to her. Bull was on his feet standing between Nikki and the Captain before anyone could react and the Captain stopped and looked between Nikki and Bull.

“This weather witch threatened a storm if I didn’t let her stay on the upper deck and when I agree and allow the Seeker up as well, lo and behold a storm comes out of nowhere. Then the storm disappears as suddenly as it appeared, we took our bearings miladies and we’re,” the Captain hesitated before continuing, “we’re pulling into Val Royeaux harbor now.”

“What?” Cassandra and Varric asked shocked

Garrick looked at them confused, “why are we surprised, this was our destination?”

“Because, Garrick we are early,” Nikki explained.

“How early are we exactly?” Garrick asked.

“Five days early,” Nikki again supplied.

“What?! So then do we have five days before we have to meet with the clerics or what?” Garrick asked of the group this time.

“We will settle ourselves into an inn and then we will assess the situation in the market square. Get a read of the people’s opinion if nothing else,” Cassandra supplied.

“That’s a good idea, Bull you’ve worked in Orlais before, any suggestions?” Varric added to the conversation.

Bull scratched his chin in thought and Nikki’s eyes were drawn to his face, it seemed more weathered than the game made it out to be, but still sexy as hell. She shook her head to get rid of the traitorous thought. It wouldn’t do well to get involved with a Ben-Hassrath spy and have him discover things that would be best left undiscovered by the Salasari. The leaders of the Qun would be very interested in the girl from another world that knew all about the Qun and their closest guarded secrets. 

“There’s an in near the docks that has reasonable prices and has a good atmosphere.” Bull nodded his head for them to follow him while Varric split off to talk to the captain after getting the name of the inn.

“So what was this place called again,” Nikki asked of Bull.

“Salope de humide,” Bull answered with a slight smirk.

“The Wet Bitch?” Nikki immediately translated. 

“You speak Orlesian,” Bull commented as he led them through the streets.

“Yeah, took three years in school,” the spoke absentmindedly before she winced. She had just talked with herself about getting involved with Bull and that included not being comfortable enough to slip things out like that. She frowned at her thought process, she had talked so easily with him the night before. Maybe she had to find some sort of middle ground with him since she obviously couldn’t stop herself. 

“What’s wrong,” Bull glanced down at her walking at his side. Bull had always been able to read people and most times he could read her no problem, but her mood had soured after her slip. He read enough of her to realize that she had unintentionally slipped that information to him, why though? She appeared healthier than the average citizen and she had education, she may be a noble. However, that did not account for her kindness and her ready acceptance of reality. In his experience even the most kind nobles seemed to live in their own reality and expected everything else to fall into their little pattern of reality.

“Just thinking about home,” Nikki’s tone spoke that she didn’t particularly want to talk about it. 

“What about your home?” Garrick asked her.

Bull glanced back at Garrick and saw nothing but open curiosity, he cared for the woman he called ‘Tama.’ However misguided he may be he truly does care for Nikki, but apparently he couldn’t read her as well as she read him.

“Mostly about Dal,” she lied easily to Garrick, who seemed to accept her word as gospel. She obviously had no problem with lying to Garrick, but she did care about him and them all. 

“Who is Dal?” Bull asked her.

Nikki brightened at the change of subject, “He’s my dog, well Mabari companion.”

Bull quirked his eyebrow at that, “you have a Mabari Companion?” Bull chuckled a moment, “Why am I not surprised?”

“Maybe because of my animal magnetism,” she winked at Bull and he smiled at the joke.

The group talked amongst themselves until Bull finally stopped in front of what you would think an inn would look like in the countryside, not in the middle of Orlais. Garrick and Nikki stared at the building, their mouths agape.

“Well it’s not that great,” Bull commented at them.

“That’s not why we’re staring,” Nikki couldn’t take her eyes off the building, it looked exactly like The Wet Bitch had been described to her in D&D.

“How can this place be here,” Garrick finally found his words to ask Nikki, he sounded relieved and excited at the same time.

“What is so special about this inn, Garrick looks like he’s home and Nikki looks like she is seeing a ghost,” Blackwall loudly whispered to Cassandra. 

Suddenly Nikki’s eyes narrowed, “only one way to find out if it’s actually the place.” She then marched her way to the door and opened it with a bang. Nikki’s eyes scanned for the bar and when she found it she nearly fainted. Behind the bar was Crowly himself, it was just a joke that Crowly manned the bar. Crowly looked up and saw Garrick, their faces broke into grins and they began shouting at each other across the room.

“Oi, what the hell are you doing here?”

“I should be asking you, man is it good to finally see a familiar face.”

Nikki suddenly hit Garrick in his side, “Draconic.”

“What? Why?”

Nikki narrowed her eyes at him, “Draconic, now. I’ll explain later.”

“Ugh, fine,” Garrick switched to Draconic as he sat at the bar and talked with Crowly in Draconic and Bull looked like he was debating between squeeing at hearing Draconic, but sceptical that it was the supposed language of the Dragons.

The two talked at the bar as Bull gathered everyone else to a table, “so why did you have the Warrior Herald switch to speaking a language that none of us knew.”

Nikki refused to look at him and instead Cassandra responded, “The Mage Herald felt that they might start discussing things that would be best not be common knowledge at this time.”

“Which means we may not wish to discuss these things in the middle of the tavern,” Blackwall interjected.

“I actually can help with that, I’ve been working on a spell that will hinder anyone trying to listen in on private conversations,” Nikki piped up.

“Oh, and when have you done this oh great Mage Herald,” Bull teased her, knowing she didn’t like the title.

“On the boat, when I got bored of charting stars,” Nikki waved a glowing hand over her drink that was brought by the waitress. Bull looked at her oddly before he handed her his drink as well.

“What about the silencing spell Solas did in Haven?” Blackwall questioned.

“yeah, but I’m working on a better version of the spell to block outside noise as well.”

“What cha doing,” Garrick asked as he bounced over.

“Having Lady Herald cleanse our drinks of potential poisons,” Bull spoke casually as he drank from his purified drink.

“How did you know that was what she was doing,” Cassandra asked as she retrieved her own drink from Nikki.

“Only logical reason to wave a magical hand over a drink,” Bull shrugged.

“Actually there are other reasons to wave a magical hand over a drink,” Solas spoke for the first time while staring at his drink despondently.

Nikki looked at Solas and nearly stared at him in disbelief, there was no way that Solas (Fen-fucking-harel) was pouting. Yet, there Solas sat, pouting. 

“Okay, only logical reason for her to wave a magical hand over her drink,” Bull rested his elbows on the table and stared at Solas almost challengingly.

“So, Garrick did you happen to make arrangements for us to stay here?” Nikki quickly changed the subject.

“Actually yeah, he said he had three rooms available that were right next to each other,” Garrick seemed smug with himself.

“Alright so then we will need to figure out sleeping arrangements, anyone have any preferences?” Nikki asked the group.

“I call Solas and Varric,” Garrick immediately spoke up, “they are the only ones here that don’t snore.”

“Excuse me I do not snore,” Cassandra spoke up indignantly.

“Yeah you do, you snore like a horse, Cassie,” Garrick teased her as she glared at him.

Nikki watched the interaction warily and looked to Cassandra and Blackwall, “that leaves you two, everyone okay with that?”

“Everyone okay with what?” Varric asked as he walked up to their table.

“Sleeping arrangements are you, me, and Solas in one room. Cassandra and Blackwall in another, and Bull and Nikki in the last room,” Garrick explained to him.

“Bull and Tama in a room?” Varric raised an eyebrow at Nikki with a teasing smirk.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but nothing is going to happen,” Nikki glowered at Varric.

Bull turned his calculating gaze to Nikki and gauged her body language, she was confident in what she was saying. He knew that she was attracted to him and he had a sneaking suspicion that his own mind was betraying him where she was concerned. He watched her every move, even a twitch didn’t escape his notice. He was getting too close to her, but he didn’t know what to do about it. He had never felt like this before. He wanted to be around her, hear her laugh, listen to her talk. He wanted her to be safe, as was his job, but he wanted her to be happy too. 

Bull was shook out of his thoughts by the group rising at Varric’s behest that the clerics were throwing an impromptu gathering in the market square and they were heading out to it. They were leaving the tavern when the bartender stopped and called to the group.

“Nikki, Debe asegurarse de permitir que su corazón florezca, en lugar de sofocarlo como usted es.” 

Bull scowled at the bartender, it sounded like Rivaini that he was talking to her with. What, was she some kind of language expert? She was certainly keeping him on his toes to try and figure her out. He shook his head and continued his way out of the inn with the group.

As they walked through the streets a bell tolled in the distance, “The city still mourns,” Cassandra commented.

They walked past a small group of people as they approached the market, many of them had masks that covered about half their face and as soon as they saw their group of seven the group of Orlesians gasped and began speed walking away from them whispering in fear.

“Just a guess Seeker, but I think they all know who we are,” Varric commented up at Cassandra.

“Your skills of observation never fail to impress me, Varric,” Cassandra said with a sneer.

Suddenly an Inquisition scout ran up to them, “My Lord and Lady Herald,” the scout knelt and saluted the two people in the middle.

“You’re one of Lelianna’s people. What have you found?” Cassandra demanded promptly.

“The Chantry mothers await you, but so do a great many templars.”

“There are templars here,” Solas questioned.

“People seem to think the templars will protect them from, from the Inquisition. They’re gathering on the other side of the market. I think that’s where the templars intend to meet you.”

“They wish to protect the people? From us?”

“We knew they would have some kind of reaction to us Heralds,” Nikki responded to Cassandra’s questions.

“But I didn’t expect the templars to make an appearance.”

“The people may just be assuming what the templars will do, I’ve heard of no concrete plans,” the scout informed them and rose from her kneeling position.

“You think the Order’s returned to the fold, maybe? to deal with us upstarts?” Varric wondered aloud.

“I know Lord Seeker Lucius. I can’t imagine him coming to the Chantry’s defense, not after all that’s occurred,” Cassandra turned to the scout, “return to Haven. Someone will need to inform them if we are . . . delayed.”

“As you say, Lady Cassandra.”

“Only one thing to do, then,” Cassandra spoke as the Scout left and the group began to proceed past her. They went on and the game really didn’t do the city any justice. The multi-tiered market place reminded Nikki of the larger buildings from back home. However, for the most part the game was accurate in the layout of the market place so it was really easy to navigate. They made their way to the crowd gathered on the far side of the market, just as the scout had told them earlier.

Garrick and Cassandra approached the makeshift stage in front of the market docks while the rest of the group hung back and Nikki made sure that Bull was to her right and kept her gaze low. Bull, of course, noticed the immediate change in her behavior.

“Good people of Val Royeaux, hear me! Together we mourn our Divine. Her naive and beautiful heart silenced by treatery! You wonder what will become of her murderer. Well, wonder no more! Behold the so-called Herald of Andraste! Claiming to rise where our beloved fell.”

Bull noticed that Nikki smirked at the mention of one Murderer and Herald, not plural. The people were already forgetting her. 

The Chantry mother continued speaking, “We say this is a false prophet! The maker would send no pale faced heathen in our hour of need!”

Garrick spoke up, “I make no claim to holiness. I wasn’t sent by your Maker or Andraste. I am just trying to close the Breach, you know the giant gaping hole in the sky above Haven, or are all your heads stuck so far up your asses that you just want someone to blame for all this. That way you can all just sit there on your asses while the world is destroyed.”

Nikki could hear the anger in his voice and she hoped that Garrick would reign in his anger before the Lord Seeker showed up.

“It’s true!” Cassandra pleaded with the Chantry Mothers gathered at the back of the stage, Nikki glanced a peek at some of them to see that some held looks of disbelief at Garrick’s disrespect for them, while some held looks of amusement at how the conversation was going. 

“The Inquisition seeks only to end this madness before it is too late.”

“It is already too late!” the speaker Chantry Mother pointed to the approaching Templars led by Lord Seeker Lucius. Nikki kept her gaze to the ground and subtly moved behind Bull as the Lord Seeker made his way to the stage. Bull noticed her movement and accommodated by shifting subtly and hid her from the Lord Seeker’s possible view.

“The templars have returned to the Chantry! They will face this ‘Inquisition,’ and the people will be safe once more!” the Lord Seeker walked up the stage and past the Chantry Mothers as if they had not said a word. Nikki waited to hear the thud that she knew followed the Lord Seeker’s arrival, but none came. Nikki glanced up to see Garrick on stage holding the Knight-Captain’s hand from striking the Chantry Mother. 

The Chantry Mother fell to the ground in shock and Garrick glared at the man, “it is the duty of warriors to protect those weaker than them. Not to strike them when they are not expecting it.”

Nikki’s eyes darted to Ser Barris who was standing towards the back of the stage and she offered him a smile before the Lord Seeker stood in front of him and spoke to Ser Barris, “Still yourself. She is beneath us.”

Ser Barris did not look convinced and glanced at Garrick as if he agreed with the Herald more than the Lord Seeker.

“That is not how warriors should act,” Garrick released the man’s arm, forcing it away from him and he glared at the Lord Seeker.

“Her claim to ‘authority’ is an insult, much like your own,” Garrick rolled his eyes as the Lord Seeker made his way down the other side of the stage. Nikki moved further behind Bull’s bulk and gradually onto Bull’s right side, again Bull positioned himself between the two. 

Cassandra made her way to the Lord Seeker as she tried to talk to him, “Lord Seeker Lucius, it's imperative that we speak with-”

“You will not address me,” he interrupted her.

“Lord Seeker?” Cassandra questioned.

“Creating a heretical movement, raising up a puppet as Andraste’s prophet. You should be ashamed. You should all be ashamed! The templars failed no one when they left the Chantry to purge the mages! You are the ones who have failed! You who’d leash our righteous swords with doubt and fear! If you came to appeal to the Chantry, you are too late. The only destiny here that demands respect is mine.”

“Then what was your purpose in coming here other than to attack defenseless Chantry Mothers,” Garrick taunted at him.

“I came to see what frightens old women so, and to laugh.”

Ser Barris came up beside the Lord Seeker, “But Lord Seeker, What if he really was sent by the Maker? What if-”

“You are called to a higher purpose! Do not question,” the Knight-Captain spoke as he walked by.

“I will make the Templar Order a power that stands alone against the void, we deserve recognition, independence,” the templars began saluting their Lord Seeker, “You have shown me nothing, and the Inquisition, less than nothing. Templars! Val Royeaux if unworthy of our protection! We march!”

With that, the Lord Seeker led the Templars away, but before he went around the corner he stopped and seemed to smell the air, “Renan,” he spoke under his breath, but somehow his call went straight to her soul and she froze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (You should make sure to allow your heart to flourish, rather than stifling it like you are.) is what Crowly said to Nikki.
> 
> So today was a particularly bad day at work, so here's another chapter because your likes and comments always brighten my day.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting Sera

The Lord Seeker scanned the crowd and when he couldn’t find her hiding behind her Qunari meat shield he continued to lead the templars away from the city. However, the damage was done and Nikki was having trouble keeping her breathing steady. She was hyperventilating by the time Bull made sure the Lord Seeker left with the other templars. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes when Bull pulled her into his arms.

“It's okay, he’s gone, calm yourself,” Bull winced at the electricity the crackled along her skin, but did not let her go. 

The rest of the group walked up as they talked amongst themselves, “I wouldn’t write off the templars so quickly, there must be those in the Order who see what the Lord Seeker has become. Either way, we should return to Haven and inform the others.”

“First, I’m taking Nikki back to the Inn,” Bull glowered at the group. None of them seemed to notice that Nikki was barely keeping herself together. 

“Wait, there will be an arrow with a message, follow it to the docks, the café, and a balcony on the second level of the market over looking the café,” Nikki spoke between choked sobs and Solas looked at her with pity. Bull rolled his eyes at both Nikki and Solas. Nikki didn’t need pity, she needed to get out of here and her insisting on guiding them wasn’t helping her state any.

“Great, now we will head to the inn and the rest of you can look for your arrows,” with that he began leading her back to the inn while shielding her from most onlookers. 

The pair walked away and after they turned the corner, Nikki collapsed into sobs. Bull silently gathered her easily into his arms and carried her back to the inn. They entered and Crowly wordlessly handed them the key to their room. Once inside, Bull lay her gently on the bed and was about to step away when her hand on his harness stopped him.

“Please,” was all she could get out before sobs racked her again.

Bull nodded and asked, “is there anything that helps you?”

Nikki looked at him with awe, “wee- I mean Elfroot, I need some burnt like in an incense holder and I need to breathe in the smoke.”

Bull nodded his acceptance and moved to gather what was needed out of their supplies. When he opened her bag to look for Elfroot, he saw that there were two large bags in her pack, one was full of gold. The other bag was what he was looking for and he quickly grabbed the larger of the two bags and took out a small bud of Elfroot. He set up what she had told him and once he set fire to it he brought it over to her and settled himself behind her. She leaned back against his chest and breathed in the smoke.

When her breathing slowed he spoke, “I need you to do something, think you can try?”

Nikki nodded slowly.

“Name five things that you can see.”

She blinked at him before looking around the room, “Chair, table, window, bowl, you.”

“Name four things you can touch.”

“The blanket, my bowl, your arms, and your horns?” she asked the last one as a slight question, from her research of the Qun the most common theme was that you don’t touch a Vashoth’s horns without permission, especially in the Qun. 

Bull smirked at her and tilted his head forward indicating that she could touch them. She slowly reached towards his horns and slowly ran her fingers along the rough texture and felt along the base of the horn. Suddenly Bull took in a deep, slow breath and she could feel a hardness beginning to form at her back. She dropped her hand back to hold her bowl in two hands and Bull cleared his throat.

“Sorry, name three things you can hear,” Bull shifted and the hardness dissipated quickly.

A blush rose on Nikki’s neck as she turned her attention to her bowl, “I can hear the crackle of the burning elfroot, the people outside the building, and your voice.”

As the exercise continued, she gradually felt better and better and they began to talk, “What happened?”

“The Lord Seeker is an imposter,” she stared at her smoldered bowl of elfroot.

“Demon?”

“Why guess that?”

“I heard him say, ‘Renan’ and you froze,” Bull remained sitting where he was, but Nikki turned so that she could face him and stared at him incredulously.

“How the hell did you hear that? No one else did.”

“Qunari can hear and smell things that humans, elves, and dwarves can’t.”

“Vishante Kaffas, are you serious right now?”

“Yes, and are you come kind of language expert? You just cursed at me in Tevine, the bartender said something to you in Rivaini, I’ve heard you speak elvish with Solas,” Bull stretched his limbs and groaned when his knee popped loudly.

“I had a lot of free time as a kid, at first I didn’t have any friends so I decided to learn languages so that I wasn’t limited by that to find friends.”

“You learned languages so you could make friends?” Bull raised his eyebrow at her.

“Well, it started off as a way for my siblings to distract me from the teasing that the other kids did to me and it became a sort of hobby, just to learn languages.”

“Do you know Qunlat?” 

Nikki gulped suddenly and noddded. Bull stared at her and spoke, “Shok ebasit hissra. What does it mean?”

“Struggle is an illusion. Sataareth kadan hass-toh issala ebasit.

“I will do what I must for those I care about, how did you learn?”

“I asked for a book to help me learn Qunlat,” what she didn’t say was that she had contacted BioWare and had convinced them to write a book of Qunlat and everything about Qunari culture, she didn’t know how much of the book would be accurate here, but a vague idea was better than none.

Bull nodded in acceptance of the answer and wondered at something, “then why did you have to ask if horn-balm existed?”

“I got it from back home and I didn’t know how accurate it was,” it was the complete truth, also she liked hearing him talk.

“So about last night…” Bull trailed off.

“That was most definitely not a common occurrence and honestly if that hadn’t happened last night, then I probably wouldn’t have had a panic attack today,” she brought her thumb up to her mouth and began chewing on her thumb nail.

“Actually I meant as to how I found you.”

“Oh, you mentioned that he told you how to find me, but it didn’t seem like you wanted to talk about it.”

“At the time, no but I would like to talk about what DIrthara told me.”

“That we were linked,” Nikki looked to the ground and looked worried, “does it bother you, that we’re linked.”

Bull was taken aback a moment, did it bother him? He honestly didn’t know how he felt about that, he hadn’t gotten that far. He didn’t even know why he brought it up with her but suddenly it seemed like she was closer to him that she had been. She hadn’t moved but she was right in front of him, the woman of his dreams existed right in front of him. He rose his hand to her chin and gently tilted her head to look at him. He looked into her eyes and saw that she yearned for him, he saw that she yearned to lay herself bare before him, he read her as if she were the missing piece of his soul.

The hand that held her chin tilted it further upwards and bent his head to meet hers. He melded their lips together like two puzzle pieces meant to be pieced together. It felt so much more real than in his dreams, which made sense. He couldn’t bring himself to pull away from her when he heard the clearing of a throat from their doorway. 

Nikki jerked back and turned to see Garrick and Varric smirking in their doorway, passing a bag of gold to each other. She eyed the offending bag and the two men before her, “was there something you needed.”

Bull’s eye widened fractionally, she sounded upset at the interruption. She liked him, she genuinely liked him. He knew now that she not only was attracted to him, but she enjoyed spending time with him. 

“Yeah, we just wanted to let you know we were going to meet with this informant that the red arrow led us to,” Garrick informed them while Varric handed over the pieces of paper they had found in the locations given to them by Nikki and ‘Red Jenny.’

“Also Lady Mage Herald and Lord Warrior Herald have been invited to a gathering at one of Duke Bastien’s chateau’s by Madame de Fer,” Varric winked at them, “you know if you wanted time alone, all you had to do was say something.”

Nikki glared playfully at them and flicked her finger and sent a tiny ball of flame that hit Garrick square in the forehead leaving a little scorch mark in the middle of his forehead. Bull looked at Nikki with trepidation before Varric laughed. 

“Honestly fire doesn’t hurt this guy, and Tama good work on the control,” Varric commented.

Nikki looked at her hand startled, she hadn’t even thought about it when she flicked the fireball at Garrick, the last time she had summoned fire it had been an inferno still. How could she have been so stupid, granted that it all worked out in the end but it still unnerved her. 

“Thanks, Varric and I want to go with the group to recruit Red Jenny,” Nikki announced.

“Why?” Bull didn’t like the idea of taking her to secret meetings in alley ways after he had read the notes that Varric had handed him.

“Mostly because ‘Red Jenny’ is going to sound insane to most of you, I speak her language,” Nikki grinned at Bull. Bull grumbled and shot a half-hearted glare at Nikki. He may like to fight and hit things, but he didn’t know what he level of combat was like, would she freeze or would she fight. He was ordered to protect her specifically for a reason, part of that reason was to play match maker if Garrick and Varric were to be any indication.

“Fine, but you do as I say,” Bull growled.

“Yes sir,” she snapped her heels together and stood straight with her hand raising to her forehead in a form of salute he had never seen before, she relaxed and shrugged her shoulders, “inside joke with me.”

“An inside joke with yourself?” Varric chuckled at her.

Nikki rolled her eyes, “well none of you would get it yet and I can’t tell you yet.”

Plans were made to get to the location to meet this Red Jenny nondescriptly and once they entered the gates to the alley they saw the guards and the guards saw them. Chaos ensued and Nikki and Bull seemed to need very little communication in battle, they seemed to know where the other was at all times. She had drawn her Nodachi before they had opened the gates, and the first person to come near to her she quickly sliced her sword at an upward angle across his chest and retreated while Bull surged forward and he quickly dispatched two more. Her reaction scared her a bit and she stood in the middle of the alleyway afterwards. 

“H-how?” How was she suddenly better with everything that she had been struggling with since her arrival, she kept her breathing semi normal and looked to Bull. He immediately gathered her up in his arms and gently told her.

“Now is not the time, calm yourself and we’ll deal with it later, you and me, together.” 

Immediately her heart rate slowed and the tension eased out of her shoulders, her breathing evened out and she nodded at him, “I’m good, thank you.”

Bull nodded and took up his position at her side as they continued onward, the group took up positions to the side of the doors with Garrick in the doorway itself, Nikki warned them that the person they were meeting was a mage and would throw fire at the doorway. Sure enough as soon as Bull and Blackwall opened the doors, Garrick got a face full of fire and he smirked at the mage.

“Herald of Andraste!” his thick accent made him hard to understand, “how much did you expend discovering me? It must have weakened the Inquisition immeasurably!”

“Who the fuck are you?”

“You don’t fool me, I’m too important for this to be an accident, my efforts will survive against you elsewhere.” 

His speech ended and Sera appeared, her uneven pixie hair cut waving as she swung into position with a readied arrow, “Just say what!”

“What is-”

Suddenly things happened very fast, Sera’s arrow fired, but the man fell just before the arrow would have struck him. Nikki lowered her glowing purple hand and Sera rounded on her.

“Oi, I had him! You lot heard me, ‘Just say what!’ stupid rich tits getting less than they deserve,” Sera stalked over to where her arrow had landed.

“Yeah, but rich tits has info we may need,” Nikki stood at the front of the group confidently and Bull made sure to keep himself close.

“Well you followed the notes well enough, I’m glad to see you’re, aaand you’re an elf, hope you’re not-” 

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Nikki looked at her hard, “won’t tolerate racism and that’s what that is right there, so you can either get over it or get out.”

Sera jerked back as if slapped, no one had called her out on that, but that’s exactly what she had been doing hadn’t she.looked to the side ashamed. She looked at the crates and said, “See that. That’s cover get ‘round it, don’t worry. Someone tipped me their equipment shed.”

Sera broke out into a grin, “they’ve got no breeches!”

The rest of the guards arrived and they fought them off just as before, “If you knew where their equipment shed was, why not take their weapons,” Cassandra called out.

“Cuz no breeches,” Nikki laughed as she fought alongside Bull. Bull eyed her after the last opponent fell and saw that she looked lighter, happier, did she enjoy fighting too? Cassandra walked over and congratulated Nikki on her combat progress before Bull could say a warning, but Nikki just smiled and thanked her. 

Bull shot her a questioning look to which she responded, “now’s not the time, we will talk about it later.”

Bull nodded his approval as Sera came over to talk to the group, “name’s Sera, so rumors are true that there are two heralds of Andraste, I’d like to join.”

Garrick walked to the front of the group and stood beside Nikki, “first off full introductions. Hello, I’m Garrick Warrior Herald of Andraste.”

Nikki laughed at the tone of voice that came from Garrick, “What the hell?”

“What?” Garrick asked innocently.

“You’re hitting on her, really?!” Nikki asked him incredulously.

Sera giggled, “Sorry love, you’re not my type.”

“So what about this ‘Red Jenny’ I’ve been hearing about then?”

“Well see it’s like this, I sent you a note to look for hidden stuff by my friends? The Friends of Red Jenny, that’s me. Well, I’m one, so is some fence in Montfort, some woman in kirkwall, there were three in Starkhaven, brothers or something. It’s just a name! Yeah? It lets little people, friends, be part of something while they stick it to nobles they hate. So here in your face I’m Sera, The Friends of Red Jenny is sort of out there. I use them to help you, plus arrows.”

Nikki interjected, “the little people, the common folk are what go through her, she helps them and takes out certain nobles in the process, or pranks them and sets their reputation asunder.” 

Sera nodded, “yeah, that’s it!”

“Hmm, well we do want to send the message that we are helping all people, but we are going to need help from nobility,” Garrick looked hard at Sera, “Is that going to be a problem?”

“Shouldn’t be as long as they stay away from me and are good ones,” Sera nodded at Nikki, who smiled at her. 

Garrick nodded and held his hand out to shake hers, she took it willingly and he drug her in for a hug. Nikki looked at him astonished when he pinned her in the crook of his arm and rubbed the top of her head, “that was for only taking their breeches.”

“Oomph,” Sera fell to her butt and began laughing at Garrick.

“You aren’t the only one who speaks her language,” Garrick nodded at Nikki who looked back at him impressed.

Sera giggled as she got up, “So I’ll meet back up with you lot on the boat back to Haven?”

“Sounds good,” Garrick nodded at Sera.

“Well that was enough excitement for one night,” Varric commented.

“Yeah, we need to get up early to get ready for the gathering at the chateau,” Blackwall commented and led the way back to the inn. 

That night Bull watched her as she fell asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow, they hadn’t had a chance to talk about what had happened earlier. A lot had happened all at once, it was a lot for anyone to deal with, so how was she doing it? He expected a complete breakdown by now, but nothing. All because he had said that that had not been the time for whatever was happening to her. 

Suddenly a thought struck him and he wondered, why do I care about her? Another thought struck him just as suddenly as the first. 'I want her.' He felt drawn to her and wondered what that meant, these were his thoughts as he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I kind of hit a block, sorry, I still have a bunch of chapters written out so don't worry, I've got some time before I catch up to myself


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting Vivienne

They spent the whole of the morning getting ready for this ‘gathering’ and they were to follow Josephine’s instructions to the letter. They had sent word of what all had happened in Val Royeaux and had sent a messenger crow to do so. Nikki spent the day being fitted with a silver dress with ruffles that gave it the illusion of flowing water. Bull was to wear sleek black trousers and a simple button up doublet, with his boots up to his knees. Nikki’s mouth watered at the sight and felt herself warm, he cleaned up good. 

“My lady, your carriage awaits,” Bull bowed to her and she curtsied at him. Suddenly an image from Beauty and the Beast popped into her head and she frowned to herself as she followed him to the carriage. When he turned around her smile was back in place and she accepted his help to get into the carriage.

“Thank you kind sir,” she teased him as he entered and crouched low to not pierce the top with his horns. Nikki glared at the fabric of the canopy and stood stooped over and pushed him to a sitting position, thus puncturing the fabric.

At his questioning look she answered, “they sent over clothes in your size, they should have accommodated for you to sit in the carriage.”

“I wasn’t planning on sitting in the carriage in the first place,” Bull smiled at her.

“What? Then why were you entering the carriage?”

 

“Well I was going to steal a kiss on my way out the other side,” he teased her.

She kept the smile on her face neutral as she felt her blush come back. He flashed her a smile and her eyes were drawn to his face, he had trimmed and shaped his stubble. It framed his face and above his lip, all trimmed short. Nikki noticed that he sat straighter in the carriage, she would have been happy to slouch if not for the corset she had had to wear with the drass.

“We have arrived Lady Herald,” the driver announced. Nikki felt like she was in a fairy tail as she walked the way to the doorway to meet with Garrick who had arrived first.

They walked through the doors of the party together and they were announced as they entered, “Lord Herald Garrick Kairason and Lady Herald Nikita Nicholson, representing the inquisition.”

Garrick and Nikki stuck close to each other as they mingled among the patrons with Bull, Cassandra, and Blackwall as their backup placed strategically throughout the room.

“What a pleasure to meet you my Lord and Lady, seeing the same faces at every event becomes so tiresome,” one guest spoke to them conversationally, “so you must be a guest of Madame de Fer, or are you here for Duke Bastien?”

“Are you here on business?” the woman beside him asked immediately afterwards, “I have heard the most curious tales of you. I can’t imagine half of them are true.”

“What have you heard about us?” Garrick asked coyly.

“Some say that when the veil opened, Andraste herself delivered you from the Fade.”

Garrick rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, “everything you’ve heard? Completely true.”

The woman giggled, “Better and better, the Inquisition should attend more of these parties.”

Suddenly a voice spoke from the stairs, “the Inquisition? What a load of pig shit! Washed up sisters and crazed Seekers? No one can take them seriously. Everyone knows it's just an excuse for a bunch of political outcasts to grab at power.”

Garrick eyed the marquis that had spoken, “I never made any claims to holiness, what’s your point?”

“In front of all these people, you admit to being a pretentious usurper?” The marquis, who had made his way across the room, walked toward Garrick, “If you had any honor, you would step outside and answer the charges.”

Suddenly the marquis froze as if held by a spell and a melodic, but cold voice called out, “My dear Marquis, how unkind of you to use such language in my house...to my guests.” Vivienne let the silence permeate the hall before she continued, “you know such rudeness is . . . intolerable.”

“Madame Vivienne, I humbly beg your pardon!” the marquis cried out in fear.

“You should,” Vivienne made her way to stand in front of the man while she had spoken, and now stood in front of him, “Whatever am I going to do with you, my dear?”

Vivienne turned to Garrick, “My Lord you’re the wounded party in this unfortunate affair, what would you have me do with this foolish, foolish man?”

“I don’t particularly care what you do with him, Lady Vivienne,” Garrick bowed low to her as he kissed her hand. Nikki could see approval in her eyes at his actions, “do whatever you think is best, my lady.”

“Poor Marquis,” Vivienne turned and grasped the man’s chin, “issuing challenges and hurling insults like some Ferelden dog lord.” 

She released him from her spell and stepped back as he coughed, “and all dressed up in your Aunt Solange’s doublet. Didn’t she give you that to the Grand Tourney? To think of all the brave Chevaliers who will be competing left for Markharm this morning … and you’re still here. Were you hoping to sate your damaged pride by defeating the Herald of Andraste in a public duel? Or did you think his blade would put an end to the misery of your failure. Run along my dear, do give my regards to your aunt.”

Vivienne turned to Garrick and Nikki, “I’m delighted you both could attend this little gathering. I’ve so wanted to meet you,” she motioned for them to follow her and Nikki motioned for Bull to wait at the end of the hallway they went to.

“Allow me to introduce myself, I am Vivienne. First Enchanter of Montsimmard and Enchantress to the Imperial Court.”

“Charmed Lady Vivienne,” Garrick bowed low again, “I am Garrick Kairason of the Inquisition.”

At Garrick’s nod Nikki introduced herself, “Nikita Nicholson, friends usually call me Nikki.”

“Ah, but I didn’t invite you to the chateau for pleasantries,” Vivienne directed their conversation, “with Divine Justinia dead, the Chantry is in shambles. Only the Inquisition might restore sanity and order to our frightened people. As the leader of the last free mages of Thedas, I feel it only right that I lend my assistance to your cause.”

“Is your interest in the Inquisition, Madame de Fer, or is it more personal?” Garrick asked flirtatiously.

Vivienne let out a small laugh, “aren’t you charming! It’s professional, of course.”  
“The Inquisition would be grateful to have you Lady Vivienne,” Garrick bowed low again and led the way out of the chateau shortly after. 

As soon as Garrick entered his carriage he tore his stiff shirt off and tore the bottom half of his leggings off, he hated events like these. He knew how to navigate them and play the part, but that was only because Mamma Clara wanted him to know how to rub elbows with the best of them, he never imagined those lessons would pay off. 

***

The next day was spent with everyone getting ready to board the ship that would begin their journey back to Haven, again no time was able to be spent for Nikki and Bull to talk about what had happened in the Alley way before they met Sera. Coincidentally they were boarding the same ship as before, only this time the captain was excited to meet with them and insisted talking with Nikki before they boarded.

“My Lady, because your storm got us here so quickly I was able to get the jump on some deals before many of my competitors, if the Inquisition ever has need of ships for your travel, please, contact me and I will take you anywhere you wish to go free of charge.” Nikki had overheard on the journey to Val Royeaux that the Captain had fallen on hard times against his competitors, mostly due to his own unwillingness with women on ships. 

Nikki smiled at the man, “you have my thanks and I’ll be sure to keep that in mind, by the way I never caught your name sir?”

“Ronan Stillwater ma’am.”

“Well ser Ronan, I hope we have a good journey together, hope you don’t mind we have two more females with us,” Nikki gauged his reaction carefully.

“Yes, I’ve met Madame de Fer already and that elf looks mischievous,” the captain had heard of her avid stance against any form of racism.

Nikki gave him a sidelong look as they boarded the ship, “Captain, I won’t tolerate any name calling in my presence.”

He nodded once as he walked off to tend to his duties and Nikki turned back to helping load their gear onto the ship. Once all their gear was onboard, Nikki gathered everyone of their group together below deck.

“What’s up Tama,” Garrick asked.

“Solas shut the door please,” as the bald apostate moved to do as asked.

“I think it’s time that the inner circle be made privy to a few things, I know Sera and Vivienne have only just joined, but if this changes their minds then we at least know who you really are,” she glanced at both Vivienne and Sera.

“Wait, you were planning on telling everyone anyway?” Garrick asked her, but before he could continue, Nikki interrupted.

“I don’t like repeating myself too many times, I didn’t want to tell anyone until everyone was here, after this we gain two others, one we won’t have to tell anything to. The other will learn on his own anyway I feel like,” Nikki smiled at the group and sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall. 

“So, you had me switch to Draconic, why?”

“To show that you knew a language never before heard here to show you really weren’t from here when we told everyone everything.” 

“Fine, then I go first. My name is Garrick Kairason, I grew up in a village in the Mwangii Expanse apparently on the planet Golarion.” 

Bull stared at Garrick as Nikki laughed, “well that’s one way to start this. Instead how about I explain, Garrick and I aren’t from here, as in we are not from Thedas.”

“So that’s why you were saying you couldn’t go home,” Bull sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. 

“Lady Nikki here is a seer and has seen future events up to the end of the Inquisition,” Cassandra began explaining before Nikki interrupted.

“Possible disbandment of the Inquisition,” Nikki pulled her legs up and told the voice in her head yelling at her to not cuddle up with Bull to shut up.

“Yes, however Nikki has already proven her information accurate, both past and present. As far as the future goes she has given specific examples as to how things could end,” Cassandra shuddered at the reminders of what Nikki had said. 

“If everyone else doesn’t mind, I would like to sleep for now. You can ask questions of Garrick and Cassandra, they were there when I told you guys everything.

Bull cleared his throat, “I think the Lord Seeker poses a threat to the Lady Herald.”

Nikki’s eyes went wide, suddenly she was wide awake, “Bull, don’t.”

“They should know, Renan,” Bull said the name scathingly and she glared at him as Solas looked at them both in shock.

“Is that how you found her when I sent you to the Fade,” Solas asked.

“What do you mean, you connected us when you sent me to the Fade,” Bull rounded on Solas.

“He couldn’t get the connection made,” Nikki whispered in realization.

“Then how did you find her Bull, I couldn’t get the connection made myself so I thought she had made the connection to you,” Solas wondered at the two before him.

“Kay can you lot stop talking about the Fade like it’s normal, yeah?” Sera shouted across the room.

“Fine, but what is it that we should know, Lady Herald,” Cassandra asked.

“And why do you think it poses a direct threat to Tama,” Garrick asked.

“Bull-”

“The Lord Seeker is a demon in disguise and it affects her directly because, well haven’t you noticed her deep connection to the fade and dealing with spirits? I asked all of you details about what you had seen when it had been Nikki to close the rifts versus when the Boss closed them,” Bull interrupted Nikki. “What would it change?”

“Who they send to be their emissary, the way I had it planned was to send Garrick to recruit the mages while I recruited the templars. Knowing what I know I would have told everyone with me on the way what was going on,” Nikki gave Bull a hard look, “there is a method to my madness.”

“They should still know things like that so they can make an informed decision, not just agree to your manipulations,” Bull gave her a hard look and Nikki was taken aback. That’s what she was doing, she was manipulating them to her whim, playing them all. 

She looked down, ashamed at herself, “I’m sorry, Bull’s right, in this I was going to manipulate everyone to what I thought was best for no other reason than my own pride. I’m sorry.” 

“You are doing what you think is best, that is all anyone can hope for,” Cassandra looked at her kindly, “it was not too long ago I thought I knew best and went against everything that everyone else was telling me to do. They said I should have sent you two off to Val Royeaux, they all thought they knew best. However, I was the one in charge and things went my way, all every person can do is what they think is the best course of action.”

“But what if it turns out worse than anyone could have imagined?”

“What if you and Garrick had been involved with the death of the divine?”

Nikki sighed, “I see your point, when we get back we are going to have a very long war council, aren’t we?”

Cassandra shrugged, “If you think it’s best to tell us everything, then do so, if you don’t think that is best, then don’t.”

“You are very accepting of this,” Nikki regarded Cassandra.

“I still believe that you both were sent to us by divine providence, none can deny that you were exactly what we needed when we needed it.”

“Yeah, divine providence,” Vivienne laughed at the sour look that crossed Nikki’s face.

“My dear, you are going to have to get used to that level of devotion, you are a Herald of Andraste, after all.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it, if I had it my way I would fade into obscurity.”

“I think that we should head to Redcliffe before returning to Haven, that way we can see what the mages are up to and we can make an educated decision as to who to ally with,” Garrick spoke out.

“Agreed, Grand Enchanter Fiona seemed to be very welcome to an alliance, does Lady Nikki have any opinions or information she would like to share?” Solas asked.

Nikki was saddened by the distance that she had inadvertently put between her and Solas, “I agree with Garrick, we should head to Redcliffe, but you should know that Fiona will not be in charge when we arrive. A magister by the name of Alexius has taken control of the mages, but we will meet an ally. He will be a mage from tevinter and he will be a great addition to the group.” 

Nikki could feel the exhaustion of the last few days catching up to her and before she could say anything, Bull walked over to Nikki, “You should get some rest, you’ve had some stressful days recently, let’s go.” 

Before Nikki could argue, he was leading her out of the meeting room they had been in and went to the room full of hammocks, where the crew slept. She picked the hammock at the far back of the ship on the top most one, he lay in the one beneath her. As long as he was careful his horns shouldn’t get stuck in the holes of the net-hammock. 

He looked up to see her face staring down at him, “Why did you tell everyone about the demon?”

Bull shrugged, “wanted to see your reaction, see if I was right about you.”

“And did I pass your test, Hissrad,” there was anger in her tone. She was quick to anger, about being manipulated and she was immediately regretful when she realized she was manipulating them to do as she wanted. She didn’t like to manipulate, she preferred the rules to be followed even in an informal setting. She stuck to her convictions and didn’t tolerate negativity in the group, shen Sera and Vivienne had started snarking back and forth, she had put a stop to it. Now they talk about knitting of all things. 

“You passed,” Bull took a deep sigh, “you passed a long time ago.”

“What?”

“You forget, I’ve seen you laid bare,” Bull looked at her meaningfully.

“I thought we weren’t talking about that.”

“We’ve got to at some point,” Bull shrugged until he saw her drooping eyes, “Later, first sleep, okay?”

“Okay,” Nikki nodded sleepily and promptly passed out after her agreement.

The journey on the boat went by without any excitement, but Bull and Nikki could not get a moment alone. It seemed that the way to bridge the gap that had appeared between her and Solas was to let him ask questions about her home world. Now that everything was out in the open, she was a bit more liberal with her information, at least concerning her home. The group quickly discovered that Garrick’s homeland was very similar to Thedas, so Nikki got the brunt of the questions and whenever it became too much Bull would step in without a word every time.

Bull’s actions confused Nikki, she didn’t think that she was that easy to read, but apparently she was wrong where Bull was concerned. Nikki questioned Dirthara about it and the only thing the spirit could offer was to search the Fade for anything pertaining to her issues. What did it mean to be Renan? What was with what happened in the Alley? Why was Bull able to enter past her defenses without even trying?

She hadn’t dreamt about Bull since he rescued her from ‘Kenny’ and he hadn’t shown up since, yet. They arrived on the Storm Coast and were met by Scout Harding and Nikki made sure to hug the dwarf and thank her for everything. They decided to help out and Nikki suggested that they go the peaceful route with the Blades of Hessarian. Garrick wore the amulet and took down the bandit chief with no problems, even when the coward called the Mabari to help him. Garrick just plowed through them all and laughed the entire time. 

They figured that since they were there, they should close some rifts. Nikki felt like she should stay at camp while Garrick closed the rift, but she knew that Bull wanted to fight and she wanted to know if the events in the Alley were just a fluke.

They approached the first rift that Nikki gave the location of, Nikki stuck to Bull’s side with her Nodachi drawn. Her focusing crystal in the pommel glowed with readied energy. Garrick waited until everyone was ready and the group of nine took out the demons below the rift in no time and Garrick was already extending his hand to close it. Nikki felt the pull of the rift, but she didn’t experience the panic of too much happening all at once. It could be because she was near the rift this time, but then the journey up to the Breach wouldn’t have affected her the way it did.

She looked around her and suddenly it struck her, Bull. The Iron Bull was with them this time, in fact she couldn’t think of a time that she had had a panic attack since he had joined, other than Val Royeaux. Val Royeaux had felt like such a clusterfuck to her, the desire demon had attacked her and the next day she nearly had to deal with an Envy demon. Two high level demons within a day of each other, it was no wonder that she had had issues. The fact remained that while Nikki had needed a moment to regulated her breathing, no other reaction to the rift being closed came about. 

“Da’len, are you alright?” Solas asked, it pleased Nikki that he reverted back to her old nickname.

“I’m alright, Hahren,” Bull noted that Solas was the only one to ask if she was alright, the others just looked lost if she showed any sign of panic attack or any sign of weakness. It reignited his anger on her behalf, he knew there was nothing to be done about it unless the others suddenly learned to read her as well as he had. Which brought about another thought, why was he able to read her so well?

Nikki noticed Bull’s brow made a miniscule furrow in thought. She looked at him questioningly and he shook his head, they would talk about it later. Later seemed to keep getting to be a bigger and bigger conversation. 

That night Bull sat watching the fire, Nikki saw that he had volunteered for the first watch and agreed to watch with him. She saw him sitting by the fire and though he wasn’t shivering or anything she had this feeling that he would appreciate a blanket. She went into her tent and got her blanket that Flissa had made especially for her. Wordlessly she draped the blanket over his broad shoulders and she couldn’t help the way her hands lingered on his shoulders. 

She shook herself and began to walk away until something tugged on her arm, pulling her down to the ground. She landed in Bull’s lap and he wrapped the blanket around his arms before wrapping his arms around her.

“This is probably the best time for us to talk,” he spoke softly in her ear.

Nikki could feel her face warming as she snuggled into his lap, she knew that he wouldn’t let her get up and decided to make herself comfortable.

“You’re probably right, where would you like to start?”

“How about the first issue where I said we would talk later,” Bull rested his face against her hair.

If anyone else were to do this, Thedas or on Earth, she would probably be rigid and on the verge of panicking. With Bull it was different, she felt safe and comfortable. She leaned back against his chest and nodded her agreement.

“So we’ve been dreaming about each other,” Bull began.

“What, no foreplay?” Nikki joked.

“Straight to the point, rather get this out in the open,” he looked out across the landscape, checking for danger.

“What did Dirthara tell you?”

“He told me we were ‘linked’ and that we had sought each other out. I talked with Solas and he said that he was able to get me asleep, but that once I was asleep he couldn’t find me to link us.” 

“The spirits of the Fade have been calling me Renan, I’ve already got Dirthara researching that, but it's slow going. I don’t think there has ever been a Renan before, so he’s kind of limited. All we’ve been able to find is that there is some mention of a prophecy referring to the child of Fen’Harel, but it would be impossible for me to be the child of Fen’Harel.”

“Why?”

“Because for the last thousand years he’s been asleep.”

“So he’s awake now?”

Nikki swallowed nervously, she knew that the Viddasala would be hunting Fen’Harel in roughly two years time. Everything was already so much out of order, she didn’t know what would happen next. She didn’t want a report getting back to the Qun that would spur the Viddasala into action sooner. She slowly nodded affirmation.

“You don’t want the Qun to know.”

“How could you tell?”

“You only hesitate to answer one of my questions on subjects that you don’t want the Qun to know,” Bull went back to nuzzling her hair.

“How do you know?”

Bull shrugged, “I don’t know, I just seem to know if it pertains to you, kind of like instinct.”

“So we’ve been seeking each other out in our dreams?” She knew Bull wouldn’t fault her for changing the subject.

“Apparently,” Nikki could feel his unease and she felt like she knew the reason.

“That means you’ve been seeking me out,” it wasn’t a question, but Bull answered anyway.

“Yeah, I don’t know how or why though,” his head swiveled back out to look at the surrounding landscape.

“I talked with Dirthara, he said that he had linked us the first time because I needed it. After that it was all us,” Nikki rested her head on one of his arms, watching the landscape.

“Well, it’s comforting to know we weren’t forced together,” Nikki could hear the smile in his voice.

“Other than us,” Nikki smiled at their joke.

“How much of our dreams do you remember then?”

“All of it,” Bull swiveled his head around again.

“So, it was enjoyable for you too?” Nikki laughed with him at his question.

“That would be a yes, Bull,” Nikki said gently.

“Is it something to do in real life then?”

“Not right now, if you’re just looking for a quick fuck, then I can’t be that.”

“Not what I heard about you and Cullen from Varric,” Bull prodded.

“Yes, but I can’t do that with you. My ability to separate my heart from sex goes out the window with you.”

“How will you know until you try?”

“Because I know me, and I know you,” Nikki could feel her eyes beginning to droop.

“Sleep, Asala, I’m used to staying awake on watch,” Nikki let herself go to sleep as soon as the command left his lips.


	17. Chapter 17

Nikki, Bull, Garrick, Solas, and Varric headed to the Hinterlands as Vivienne, Sera, and Cassandra returned to Haven. They made their way up to Redcliffe to meet with the mages before returning to Haven, “Be wary, there is a rift right outside the- Nevermind.”

Nikki tried to warn them about the rift, but as soon as the word rift came out of her mouth, Garrick took off in the direction of Redcliffe. Nikki facepalmed and before they rounded the final corner Nikki was hunched over in her saddle, forcing her breathing to remain calm.

“Sorry Tama, I just couldn’t wait. This rift was weird compared to the others, it seemed as if the demons would speed up and slow down in certain places.”

“It was distorting time, and while I know you have been feeling froggy lately, that is no excuse to run off to face a rift on your own,” Garrick ducked his head in embarrassment.

Once the group had gathered back together they went through the gates and were greeted by an Inquisition Scout, “We’ve spread word the Inquisition was coming, but you should know that no one here was expecting us. We’ve arranged use of the tavern for the negotiations.”

Nikki nodded her confirmation, “Then that’s where we’ll head.”

They were about to walk away, when what looked to be an elven servant came running up, “agents of the Inquisition, my apologies! Magister Alexius is in charge now, but hasn’t yet arrived, he’s expected shortly. You can speak with the former Grand Enchanter in the meantime.”

The elf led their way through Redcliffe and Nikki led Bull and Varric off to a hut on the side of the road.

“Varric, think you can pick this lock,” Nikki waved her glowing hands around the area.

“Sure thing Tama, what’s going on?”

“There is information in here that will affect our decisions regarding the tranquil and the mages,” Nikki saw that Varric was starting to struggle with the lock and she waved her hand over the lock. It troubled her how easily she could call forth her magic and how easily she could control it ever since Bull arrived.

After gathering the information from the hut they made their way to the Tavern, they entered just in time for Alexius to leave the Tavern with his son, Felix in tow. They grouped up and exchanged information.

“Alexius has indeed taken control over the mages here, and we received this note to go to the Chantry, is this where we meet our Tevinter ally,” Garrick asked.

Nikki nodded, “on the way there, Varric should talk to the smuggler.”

Garrick thought for a moment before he remembered the events that had led to the discovery of this smuggler, he nodded his agreement and let Varric lead the way to the Chantry. Varric talked with her and convinced her to become an agent of the Inquisition. They opened the doors to the Chantry and saw a slim, fit, darker skinned man with a curled handlebar mustache.

“A little help here if you don’t mind,” he called out to them as he began striking at the demons with his staff.

The group moved into action, Varric and Solas stayed back as they provided ranged support. Garrick, Bull, Nikki, and Blackwall moved forward. Nikki and Bull once again moved in perfect tandem, it seemed as if they had no need to communicate and simply knew where the other was. The battle ended and this time Nikki extended her will to the rift to will it closed. She groaned as she fell to her knees after the rift was closed. Bull was immediately at her side and didn’t spare the ‘Vint another glance. Garrick however, couldn’t take his eyes off the ‘Vint.

“Fascinating, how do your marks work, exactly?” Garrick shrugged at the man’s question, “You don’t even know, do you? You just wiggle your fingers, and boom! Rift closes.”

“Who are you?” Garrick finally found his voice.

“Ah, getting ahead of myself again, I see. Dorian of House Pavus, most recently of Minrathous. How do you do?” Dorian bowed with a flourish that sent images straight to Garrick’s brain.

“Why are you here,” Varric asked suspiciously.

“Suspicious friends you have here. Magister Alexius was once my mentor, so my assistance should be valuable. As I’m sure you can imagine.”

“Are you a Magister?” Garrick asked.

“All right. Let’s say this once, I’m a mage from Tevinter, but not a member of the magisterium. I know Southerners use the terms interchangeably, but that only makes you sound like barbarians.”

Garrick’s eye twitched, “something wrong with Barbarians.”

“Means different thing here, think of yourself as a Reaver here,” Nikki called as she finally caught her breath.

“You sent the note then?” Varric asked.

“Yes, someone had to warn you, after all. Look, you must know there’s danger. That should be obvious without the note. Let’s start with Alexius claiming the allegiance of the mage rebels out from under you. As if by magic, yes? Which is exactly right, to reach Redcliffe before the Inquisition, Alexius distorted time itself.”

“You mean he did magic to arrive here shortly after the Divine died?” Garrick asked.

“You catch on quick,” Dorian praised him.

“That is fascinating, if true...and almost certainly dangerous,” Solas commented.

“The rift you closed here? You saw how it twisted time around itself, sped some things up and slowed others down. Soon there will be more like it, and they’ll appear further and further away from Redcliffe. The magic Alexius is using is wildly unstable, and it’s unraveling the world,” Dorian’s face scrunched up in disgust.

“I’d like more proof than ‘magical time control! Go with it.’” Garrick quipped back at Dorian.

“I know what I’m talking about. I helped develop this magic. When I was still his apprentice, it was pure theory. Alexius could never get it to work. What I don’t understand is why he’s doing it? Ripping time to shreds just to gain a few hundred lackeys?”

“He didn’t do it for them,” Felix came out from the shadows of the Chantry.

“Took you long enough. Is he getting suspicious?”

“No, but I shouldn’t have played the illness card. I thought he’d be fussing over me all day. My father’s joined a cult. Tevinter supremacists, they call themselves the ‘Venatori.’ And I can tell you one thing: whatever he’s done for them, he’s done it to get to you,” Felix looked straight at Garrick.

“All this work, just to get to little old me? And here I didn’t get Alexius anything,” Garrick’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Get him a fruit basket, everyone loves those,” Dorian quipped back, “You know you’re his target, expecting the trap is the first step in turning it to your advantage. I can’t stay in Redcliffe. Alexius doesn’t know I’m here, and I want to keep it that way for now. But whenever you’re ready to deal with him, I want to be there. I’ll be in touch.”

Dorian turned to leave and about halfway to the door he turned back, “and Felix? Try not to get yourself killed.”

“There are worse things than death, Dorian,” Felix said to his friend.

Felix left and Garrick told Nikki what had transpired inside the tavern. Nikki conveyed what she, Varric, and Bull had found. They went back to the Tavern and recruited the Tranquil to join the Inquisition. Nikki made sure to mention to them to head to Minaeve and Adan to help with monster research and healing.

With their business in Redcliffe finished, they left Redcliffe and the Hinterlands, before she knew it, Nikki was passing back through the gates of Haven and she and Bull hadn’t had time to spend talking about the Alley incident. She was greeted by many of the blacksmiths and Nikki’s eyes widened at how much the Inquisition had grown in their absence. In the time she had been gone, their numbers had nearly doubled and she grew even more worried about the battle for Haven that seemed to be approaching quicker every day.

“Lelianna,” Nikki called out to the spymaster as Nikki made a beeline for her tent, “Where did all these people come from?”

“Mostly the Hinterlands, many of their homes were destroyed and at least with the Inquisition they will be fed,” Lelianna drew out one sheet of parchment.

“So we have enough to feed everyone?” Nikki hadn’t noticed that Bull had not followed her when she had sought out Lelianna.

“Yes, Lady Herald. Supplies and Allies are taking care of themselves just by you and Garrick doing as you have been,” Lelianna smiled encouragingly at her, but she still seemed worried.

“But what about in the event of evacuation, do we have any plans in place,” her question worried Lelianna.

“Have you seen anything,” she asked sharply.

“Nothing new, I just want to make sure we are prepared in the event that we have to evacuate, better have it and not need it than be caught by surprise,” Nikki looked thoughtfully at the surrounding mountains.

“Agreed, I will collaborate with Cullen at once. You should rest, we won’t be having a war meeting until tomorrow, when you and Garrick have had time to rest, a lot happened on your journey.”

“You have no idea,” Nikki smiled at Lelianna and made her way down to the tavern where the Chargers had carved out their own little niche within the tavern. The dagger throwing had been banned until Nikki could play barrier and Flissa had hired some help from among the refugees that had arrived.

“You’re always welcome to help, Lady Nikki,” Flissa told her when they had updated each other on everything that had happened while they had been away. Flissa had been giving Nikki’s share of the profits from the Fireball to Josephine to add to the Inquisition’s funds.

“Sounds to me like you don’t need any more help, except for the dagger game,” Nikki and Flissa laughed at the game.

Flissa sobered after a moment, “Lady Cassandra was looking for you, said something about wanting to fit in a training session this afternoon since you all returned so early.”

“Ugh, I swear the woman never rests,” Nikki groaned and made her way past the Chargers. One of the members, Dalish, winked at her and she smiled back.

When she got back outside the gates of Haven she saw Cassandra by the training dummies and Lelianna was making her way over to Cullen and Dal. Nikki smiled at the picture, Dal had certainly seemed to make himself at home at Cullen’s side. Dal saw her and immediately bounded towards her. He barreled into her, causing her to fall into a snowbank and the guards nearby laughed at her.

“Hardy har har,” she shoved Dal off of her and brushed the snow off of her trousers. She made her way to Cassandra, while talking ambiently to Dal.

“So we recruited, Sera, Vivienne, and Bull. He seems a little different than I remember, but maybe that is to be expected, what do you think Dal?”

He barked at her a few times as if in conversation, “I agree, I think we should focus on Cassandra’s impromptu training session.”

They arrived at where Cassandra was wailing on the poor training dummy, Nikki could see Bull dragging his chargers out of the Tavern to train as well. She began sparring with Cassandra and it was as if the fight in the Alleyway of Val Royeaux had never happened. Nikki glared at herself as she landed on her ass for the fifth time that match.

“Enough, enough I can’t take anymore,” Krem’s voice teased her from the sidelines.

“Yeah, I think that’s enough punishment for one day Seeker,” Bull rumbled from the edge of the sparring ring.

“If you want to take over her training, be my guest. She did better fighting alongside you anyway,” Cassandra grumbled as she left Nikki sitting in the dirt.

“What don’t I get any say in this?” she shouted at the Seeker’s retreating back.

“Nope, afraid you don’t Lady Herald,” Bull teased as he lowered a hand to her so as to help her up. She took the offered hand as she glared at the owner of said hand.

“You fight like a Gemini without their other half,” Nikki looked at him confused, “Never heard of the Gemini warriors?” Nikki shook her head and followed Bull as he led the way away from Haven, towards a grove of trees in the valley.

“They are paired warriors within the Qun, it is no longer practiced, but a two warriors would be paired by the Tamassrans and they would be partners for life. They did everything together, they had a unique fighting style unique to each Gemini Pair.”

“So, you’re comparing me to a Gemini warrior without her partner?” she shrugged, “That actually makes sense.” Bull nodded his agreement and stopped walking in a small grove of trees where Haven was visible just on the other side of the hill they went over.

“Okay, time to get busy,” Bull seemed to have an evil glint in his eye as he rubbed his hand excitedly together.

He kept her busy sparring with him until the sun began to set, to get a feel for her fighting style he said. If you asked her, Nikki would tell you that he just wanted to see her sweating and panting and lying on her back. She looked up the last time and stared at the sky above her.

“Alright, I suppose that’s enough for today, let’s head to the tavern,” Nikki grinned and with a sudden burst of energy, she rolled and stood herself up and was walking back to Haven before Bull could make a single step in that direction.

When Nikki entered the tavern she saw that the majority of the patrons there were on the better half of drunk and everyone’s spirits were lifted, just by having the Heralds in base. Nikki smiled at the Chargers tucked into their own corner. Nikki took a table near them, but still a little bit apart so that when Bull entered she could watch their interactions from a little ways off.

However that was not going to happen, this night in particular the Chargers were teasing Dalish about not being a mage, “You carry around a giant staff.”

“It’s a bow!” she insisted, Nikki grinned at her.

“With a giant glowing crystal at the top?”

“It’s for aiming,” Dalish made a disgusted sound and made her way up to the bar, Nikki watched her walk up there and made a decision.

“You know, we could discussing aiming techniques for your bow,” Nikki sidled up next to Dalish at the bar under the watchful eye of The Iron Bull.

He watched them talk with his belly rolling with anger every time the pair brushed hands. He knew he had no claim over her, so he stewed in his ale as he sat back and watched as Dalish left with Nikki.

Cullen had been looking forward to spending time with Nikki, now that she had returned. However, with him being busy training the new recruits all day, he hadn’t been able to get away to greet her let alone any other activities. When he saw Nikki enter her cabin with one of the new mercenaries, his heart plummeted. She had made it perfectly clear their relationship was only in the categories of physical and platonic, but it hurt to see her off being happy with someone else.

***  
Inside the cabin, Nikki and Dalish were fused at the mouth as they stripped clothes off each other. Their clothes came off so fast, Nikki could have sworn that they vanished. She pulled back to make sure her clothes still existed, with her luck her magic would make them disappear. Dalish gave her an odd look before Nikki smiled at her and latched herself onto her partner's lips.

Nikki needed the release and being with Dalish was something new and they both were fine with a one-night stand. She hoped that once she had sex, then maybe Bull wouldn’t affect her as strongly as he did. Dalish left searing kisses down Nikki’s neck and Nikki pulled them to her bed. It was early enough that Nikki knew Garrick wouldn’t be back until much later and she needed this now.

Dalish went along with what Nikki was doing until they reached her bed, then Dalish made sure that Nikki was laid out on the bed. Dalish got a mischievous grin on her face before she ran her fingers up Nikki’s thighs. Nikki groaned at the sensation it had been too long since someone had been even a little rough with her, she missed it. A voice suddenly rang out wanting The Iron Bull, Nikki quickly squashed the voice and let herself live in this moment.

Dalish’s tongue quickly and deftly entered her folds, her tongue worked it’s magic until Nikki was a glowing puddle of nerves. Nikki pulled her partner up to kiss Dalish and while she was distracted, Nikki flipped them over so that Nikki was on top.

This time it was Nikki’s turn to grin devilishly. Nikki kissed her way down to Dalish’s breast as her fingers separated her folds. Dalish wrapped one leg around Nikki’s hips for easier access. Nikki suckled on her breast in time with her fingers, rolling the nub of her nipple between her teeth, causing Dalish to shudder at the sensation. Soon enough Dalish was shuddering her orgasm and Nikki switched to the other breast. One hand inside Dalish and the other raking up her thigh.

Dalish began to babble incoherently and Nikki grinned to herself, just as Dalish was about to cum again Nikki stopped her ministrations and Dalish groaned at the sudden loss of contact. Nikki slowly moved herself downward and buried her face in Dalish’s heat. Dalish covered her mouth with her own hand to keep the scream of pleasure inside. Nikki lapped up the juices that came out of her, causing her orgasm to draw itself out. It felt like forever until Dalish shuddered for the last time.  
***

“Fenedhis lasa, what the hell was that?” Dalish asked Nikki as she sat up and leaned against the wall. She grabbed Dalish’s legs to drape over her lap and when Dalish sat up to continue, Nikki shook her head.

“I know you don’t have the energy to continue and I know you want to reciprocate, but I like it this way, I like giving my partner more pleasure than I receive,” Nikki leaned back against the wall of her cabin.

“Damnit!” Dalish exclaimed. Nikki looked at Dalish with a raised eyebrow, “I had you pegged as a pillow princess, Chief had you as more of a serving type, now I have to buy his drinks for the next week.”

Nikki laughed, “Sorry I couldn’t deliver.”

Dalish was relieved that Nikki didn’t freak out that the Chargers had bet on her sex life. Finally finding her energy, Dalish sat up and kissed Nikki soundly on the mouth.

“Thank you for this, it’s been a while,” Dalish spoke.

“You’re welcome,” Nikki was about to continue when there was a loud banging on the door.

“You two done fucking in there,” Garrick’s voice could be heard through the door, “I would like to go to sleep at some point.”

Nikki grinned as she and Dalish got dressed, “Oh, so did you claim your bed back from Dal?”

A small “no” could almost be heard through the door, causing Nikki to burst into laughter. Once both women were dressed, Nikki opened the door for Dalish and they saw Garrick leaning against the cabin.

“About time,” Garrick complained at them before walking past them to his side of the cabin. Nikki smiled and shook her head at Garrick’s actions.

“Good night Dalish, I had fun,” Nikki pulled her in for a quick kiss.

“I had fun too, with you I wouldn’t mind another go,” Dalish laughed at herself and walked off in the direction of the Chargers’ camp.

“Thought, ‘Bull’ was your type,” Garrick asked.

“He is, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun with other people. It’s not like i’m in a relationship with him, I needed a string free night of sex. Is that too much to ask?” she asked him pointedly as he got ready for bed.

“No, it’s not. You should know that he cares for you though,” Garrick glanced at her to see that she already knew what he was telling her and that she felt the same way, “I recognize love when I see it, true and fake. What you got is real, don’t wait too long or else he may be gone.”

“Words of wisdom from Clara?”

“Yeah, so when are you gonna tell me how you know so much about me and my parents?”

“Good night, Garrick,” Nikki avoided the question, she knew that he would react angrily to her saying that she came up with Kaira, Clara, and Garrick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've kind of taken a break from writing this fic and have been working on Saarath Saarebas. I still plan on posting what I do have written and maybe Saarath Saarebas will be done before I catch up with myself and I'll continue from there. :) (I have not abandoned this fic, just taking a break from writing while I work a few things out in my head.)


	18. Chapter 18

The next day found Nikki waking refreshed for once as she made her way to the Chantry for the War meeting that was to take place first thing in the morning. Just as the sun was rising over the roof of the Chanty, Nikki spotted Cullen on his way up to the Chantry as well. 

“Good morning, Commander,” Nikki lightly teased with Garrick at her side. 

Cullen grunted a greeting, but the sour look on his face spoke more to Nikki and her face soured in response.

“What’s wrong with him?” Garrick asked Nikki.

“I dunno, but if he’s already in a foul mood, then he’s really not going to be happy when he hears our plan,” Nikki shrugged as she entered the war council room.

They entered the Chantry and were greeted by Josephine and Lelianna, “it's good you’ve returned, we heard of your encounters.” 

“You heard already?” Garrick asked.

“My agents in the city sent word, of course,” Lelianna spoke as Cassandra walked up.

“It’s a shame the templars have abandoned their senses as well as the Capital,” Cullen crossed his arms in frustration. The six of them made their way to the war council room.

“Your report that the Lord seeker is an Envy demon in disguise is troubling,” Lelianna grasped her arms close to herself, “I have sent my spies after him, my reports have been... very odd.”

“We must look into it. I’m sure that not every templar will have fallen for this ruse,” Cullen looked troubled however.

“Yet there is also the matter of a Magister taking control of the mages out from under us,” Josephine remarked.

“Not to mention the time magic at work there,” Lelianna looked at the table with a hardness that troubled Nikki.

.”We are faced with a unique opportunity, in all the things I’ve seen, there has only ever been one Herald. Here, we have two. Each of us are uniquely qualified to tackle the events that will happen. I propose that we send Garrick to deal with Alexius and the mages, and we send me to deal with the templars,” Nikki faced them seriously.

“You can’t be serious,” Cullen said incredulously.

“Oh I assure you I am completely serious,” Nikki glared at him.

“You are proposing to send Garrick to the mages? Why not you?”

“Why, because I’m a mage? Don’t you think that I’ve thought about that and weighed that against our Individual skills.”

“I know how templars think, Lady Herald,” Cullen started to say.

“So you’re saying that templars will just see that I’m a mage and just outright turn me down?” Nikki asked angrily, “Is that how you see me, ex-templar.”

“That’s not what I’m saying, it’s just that well Garrick is, well he’s human and a warrior,” Nikki’s eyes widened in shock at Cullen.

“Are you fucking kidding me? After all I’ve been through and after all I’ve helped with this Inquisition, you are suggesting a change in plan because I’m a knife eared saarebas,” she spoke quietly and the entire room fell silent as the grave.

“I never said that.”

“You didn’t have to,” Nikki turned and walked out of the war council room, “Continue without me, I’ve told you my idea, do what you will.”

Cullen followed after her as she made her way out of the Chantry, he caught up to her and turned her to face him, “I’m-”

“Katoh, we’re through,” Nikki used the word they had agreed upon to end everything as tears brimmed in her eyes.

Cullen stood there in shock as Nikki turned and left the Chantry, eventually he returned to the war room and they made plans for Garrick to go to Redcliffe, then made plans to approach the templars which would fall mostly on Josephine.

Nikki however, stormed out of Haven’s gate, then headed to the grove of trees that she used to visit when Garrick was in the Hinterlands. Bull noticed her distraught state immediately and when she stormed out of Haven towards the trees, he made to follow her. She was so caught up in herself that she didn’t notice him. She went up the hills to a particularly thick grove of trees and began to punch at the thickest tree she could find as the tears she had been trying to hold back fell from her eyes.

Bull hung back and watched her, in his peripheral vision he saw that the trees and vegetation seemed healthier and bigger within a five foot radius of her. Not the first time she’s done this. Due to her glow, Bull deduced that she was healing herself. Which meant that there was no evidence of her doing this, no one knew she was cracking. 

Suddenly she spun and backhanded the tree and he heard a crack that definitely didn’t sound good. Before he could move, she dropped to the ground clutching her theoretically broken arm to her chest. She glowed blue for a moment before he felt her healing energy surge around the area. She stood and took an actual stance, she began punching the tree as if she were sparring with it. He could still see the anger simmering in her movements, but she was more controlled.

This was not her first broken limb, then. After about an hour her movements began to slow, she had been holding in her frustrations for a while. He watched her from improve as she calmed and she began adding kicks to her routine. She definitely knew how to fight, he had seen it himself in Val Royeaux and the Storm Coast. How was it that she seemed like a Gemini warrior without her other half, but when she fought at his side she was whole? 

He stood as her silent protector until well after midday, when she finally began to speak.

“Katoh,” he saw that tears fell liberally from her eyes, “I knew it was stupid to get involved with him. I know what he went through in Kirkwall. I should have fucking known this would be different too, he sees me as nothing more than a fucking knife eared saarebas.”

He knew that she had been involved with the Commander, but she had spent last night with Dalish. Cullen didn’t seem like the type to share. 

“It’s not your fault how other people see you Nikki,” her voice changed in tone as if she were mimicking someone, “Yeah, yeah, Ellie, but it still hurts when people you care about see you as nothing but a knife eared saarebas to be locked away in a tower.”

He hated seeing her like this and wondered where these feelings came from, he knew he wanted her but that didn’t explain everything he was feeling. She suddenly screamed in rage and threw both her fists at the tree and slid down the tree to her knees and he could hear her angry sobs as she weakly smacked at the tree.

“Wuo-shang mayer, maysheen byen shr-to. Please God, make me a stone. This is too much for one person to handle. I can’t. I can’t,” she began shaking her head and sobbing more. Bull recognized her panic attack the moment it came. 

He immediately began to walk forward, the moment he took a step her eyes snapped to him. He saw the panic and anger in her eyes, but none of it was directed at him. He squatted down and scooped her light from into his arms as he cradled her into his chest. He wordlessly carried her back through the trees, he entered the outer gate and headed to the abandoned cabin he had checked out last night.

“You followed me,” it wasn’t a question, but he nodded in confirmation anyway.

He entered the cabin and set her down on the bed inside, he rose to light a fire in the fireplace of the cabin to warm the inside. Once the fire was lit he turned back to Nikki, suddenly it struck him. 

Out of nowhere a story his Tama had told him before bedtime one night was a story about the Tal Asala. Soul mates. It was about a paired couple of Gemini warriors, but the similarities were uncanny. He knew where she was in battle and she only fought well when in tandem with him. He knew why he called her Asala without a second thought, she was his. She was his Tal Asala. 

Bull looked away from her for a moment as he calmed his breathing, when he looked back he saw that she was so far gone that she hadn’t noticed his moment. He walked over and sat behind her on the bed, he pulled her into his lap and placed his hand in the middle of her chest above her breasts. 

“Breathe with me,” he commanded in her ear.

Immediately he noticed a change, she responded to his command by leaning back into his chest and matching his rhythm. They breathed together for about an hour before Nikki began to talk.

“I take it you followed me from the gates of Haven?” 

Bull nodded.

“You know I can’t see you nod,” Nikki slightly smiled.

“Then how did you know I nodded?”

Nikki sighed through her nose, “I know you, that’s why I shouldn’t do this.”

“And what is ‘this’?”

“You holding me, I could get lost here in your arms,” she stared at his arms longingly, “why did you follow me?”

“I’m your bodyguard,” came the immediate response.

“Bullshit, now tell me the truth, and Bull if you ever lie to me again I’ll set you on fire and not even piss on you to put you out,” this caused Bull to laugh at the mental image she painted.

“Alright, alright, I wanted to make sure you were safe.”

“Honestly the only person that could really hurt me in this world is you,” she turned her head up to face him in his arms.

Without thinking his lips molded to hers before she pulled away and sat across the bed from him, “I can’t do this. I told you, I can’t just do casual sex with you.”

“Who said I was looking for casual sex?” Bull crossed his arms and regarded her carefully. He knew he wanted her, Tal Asala or not, he wanted her.

Her ears perked upward and she looked at him with wide eyes, “but I thought-”

“You thought that because I grew up under the Qun where we have Tamassrans that pop your cork whenever you need it that I would just be looking for casual sex,” he uncrossed his arms and grasped her hand, “it honestly makes sense, but for the first time in my life, I want something.”

Nikki thought she felt her heart stop from the shock of his words, “what?” she whispered in disbelief. She looked to the floor of the cabin the turned her head to the side, “am I in a romance novel now?”

Bull chuckled at her question to herself and he pulled her back into his arms and molded his lips over hers. One hand cradled her head as the other wrapped around her waist. Nikki brought her arms up to wrap around his neck and knew she was lost to him. Granted, she hadn't been fighting him that hard.

Suddenly he lifted her up and pinned her against the nearby wall separating the bed from the main room of the cabin. The wood was smooth on Nikki’s back as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He pulled her arms from around his neck and placed them above her head, holding them in place with one hand while the other raked down her side. She moaned into his mouth, opening her mouth and granting his tongue access to explore her mouth.

His tongue slid languidly against hers and she tightened her legs around his waist in an attempt to be closer to him, touching more of him. His hand tightened around her wrists in warning of her moving her hands. She wished for some rope to hold her hands above her head and suddenly she felt the rough scrape of the rope she had seen outside the cabin. Bull pulled back and watched as Nikki’s magic wrapped the rope around her wrists on one and and the other embedded itself into the wall as if it fused together with the wall.

He grinned down at her and took his hand away from her’s, “you particularly fond of this tunic?”

Nikki lightly bit her lip in anticipation as she shook her head causing him to grin and tear the tunic down the front to reveal her bare breasts and he smiled in approval at the lack of a breast band. His hands slid languidly down her sides as his hips pinned hers against the wall, she shuddered at the sensation it caused. 

He latched his mouth onto her breast and she threw her head back gently against the wall as she felt him nip at her nub. He wrapped one arm around her torso and lifted her from the wall so her arms ached at the strain wonderfully. His other hand occupied itself with her other breast and rolled one nipple between his fingers as his teeth scrape against her other nipple. The hand at her back scraped up her back as he lifted his head.

“You will tell me when you are cuming,” he orderd and waited until she responded her agreement before he went back to his ministrations causing a near sensory overload as everything started back up again, just as before and as her pleasure built she tried to speak.

“I - I’m -Guhh, fuck,” she felt him smile against her breast in approval.

He slowed he movements as she shuddered in his arms, slowly he rested her back against the wall and her legs fell from his waist. Her feet landed on the floor perfectly and rested herself against him as she panted.

“Do you think we are done, Asala?”

Nikki smiled at the tone in his voice, they were nowhere near done and her belly tightened in anticipation, “no, sir.” 

Bull hummed to himself, “sir? I kind of like it, we’ll see how it lasts.”

He suddenly kneeled before her and untied her leggings and lowering them to the floor with her undergarment. He looked at the bare haired junction with a raised eyebrow, he looked up at her and he smiled down at him.

“I don’t like hair on me, so I used magic to shave one day and it never grew back, but the hair on my head has been growing like crazy,” Bull laughed at her explanation and leaned his face against her hip. He grasped one of her legs and placed it on his shoulder, then moved to the other side and placed her other leg on his horn, the difference of height spreading her legs further. 

He let go of her legs and used one hand to hold her hips in place, while the other hand spread her folds granting his mouth easier access. He ran his tongue up the length of her heat and she groaned in pleasure at the sensation. His tongue swirled around her nub and her legs clenched around their rests. He growled into her, the vibrations of his voice adding to the tumult of sensation, his lips curled back and his slight fags scraped against her sensitive flesh.

“Oh god, I’m Cu- I ca-,” he smiled at har barrage of gibberish and nuzzled his nose into her folds as his lapped up her juices from her orgasm. He gently set her back down again, her legs barely able to stand.

“Untie your rope,” he commanded of her. The rope came untied and she fell into his arms, he gathered her up in his arms easily and laid her on the bed and let her calm her breathing as he checked her wrists to ensure they were okay. There was a little bit of redness ringing her wrists, but nothing more and he looked down at her as she lay boneless.

“Do you think you can continue,” he didn’t know her level of stamina as far as sexual activity went and she smiled at him.

“Oh yes, please,” He grinned and rose to remove his trousers, his hardened member springing free. Precum leaked from the tip and she sat up suddenly. Her face level with his member she made eye contact with him as she ran her tongue up the length of his member. He groaned in approval as she began to suck and bob her head up and down his length. He rested a hand on her head as he groaned in approval.

“Fuck,” he ground out and she hummed as she took more and more of him into her mouth. Her tongue flicked over his cock inside her and he shot a hand out to the nearby wall to steady himself. This was more intense than he had ever experienced before, he’d had a blowjob before, but never one that felt as intense as this. He didn’t know if it was because she was his Tal Asala or if it was her magic, but he didn’t care. He knew her magic would never hurt him, he honestly was starting to think that her magic couldn’t hurt him.

“Ataash,” Bull ground out and Nikki realized that had to be the Qunlat slang for cum when his seed filled her mouth and her throat immediately worked to swallow as much as she could. His hand clenched in her hair when he realized what she was doing, “F- Fuck,” it wasn’t very often someone swallowed his seed and it was hot as fuck.

He grasped her and threw her back onto the bed and laid himself over her, pinning her to the bed, his fingers reached down and he slid one finger inside of her. He teased her a bit before he added a second, she took a breath and willed herself to relax and he added a third finger to scissor within her, stretching and filling her in ways she hadn’t been filled in years. He rubbed at her clit with his thumb and when her walls crashed down on his fingers he kissed her before she could tell him she was coming. He still felt her mumble against him and smiled to himself that she attempted to follow his orders despite the setback. 

He pulled back and removed his hand from her heat as he moved his hips in position, she wrapped a leg around his hip and she felt his member line up with her opening. He latched onto her throat as he slowly entered her. She groaned in pleasure and her hips jerked up to meet his hip in an attempt to encourage him to move faster, but he pinned her hips to the bed in response and continued his slow entrance into her. She nearly groaned in frustration when his hips suddenly snapped to meet hers, embedding his member deep within her.

She raked her fingers down his back as she nearly came from the sudden sensation of being filled. He set a hard but slow pace as he fucked her. His mouth never left her neck and his hand held her hip in his bruising grip. He read her like braille as his fingers ran across her skin, scraping or pinching in just the right spots to reduce her to a puddle of pleasured goo. He continued to rock his hips into her until their pleasure mounted together. Bull crashed their lips together to muffle her scream and his moan as they came together. Nikki’s legs shook as they gripped Bull to her and she could feel his shudders.

He flopped himself off to the side of her body, propping his head up on his hand and he pulled her towards him as he curled himself around her. Burying his face in her mane of vibrant red hair he hummed happily as he lay there content.

Nikki curled in on herself to make her smaller and turned around in Bull’s arm so that she was facing him. She snuggled up so that her head rested under where his chin rested on his hand. He watched her as her breathing evened out and she fell asleep in his arms. He lay there watching her until the sun set below the horizon and the fire dimmed in the fireplace. 

“I’m lost to you, so how to I keep my sanity with you around? ” he spoke to her sleeping form before he settled himself down on his back and pulled her to curl at his side as his other hand pulled the nearby blanket up to cover them and he closed his eyes to get some rest.

The moment Nikki fell asleep she was in her library-sanctuary facing a figure that looked exactly like Kenpachi Zaraki. She glared at his narrow black eye and his right eyed eye-patch. 

“How did you get in here, Desire,” Nikki asked as she walked around his figure and made her way to the fire place. 

“Your defenses sure improved, but the loophole is that I can find you if I mean you no harm,” his smooth voice responded with a grin, “and I told you, call me Kenny?”

“Then why can’t Fen’Harel enter?”

He shrugged, “maybe because he’s not a spirit-being like me. Maybe because of the specificity of your block on him. How should I know?”

“So you mean me no harm, then?”

“So long as my intent remains peaceful your will won’t kick me out,” he moved to sit in a nearby chair and languidly reached for a nearby book.

“Fine, what do you want?”

He snapped the book shut for dramatic effect as he stood once more and walked toward her, “I want to get to know my prey. One day you will desire something, something only I can provide. I am content to wait, till then I may as well have fun and pop in now and again. Learn about my Renan, as it were.”

Nikki looked at Desire with a raised eyebrow, he wasn’t acting anything like Kenpachi Zaraki, it made her eye twitch in annoyance that the creature wasn’t even trying to imitate the spirit of Kenpachi, just his form, “fine, whatever then.”

Nikki went off to research some more about magic inside the Fade from the books Dirthara and other spirits had been gathering from around the Fade. Desire followed her as he chattered on about how interesting the story of Harry Dresden was.

“The man is horribly outmatched at every turn, but somehow he makes it out alright, yet there’s that underlying sense of foreboding and consequences, it really is well written.”

“Are you here reading books from my memory here while I’m awake?” Nikki looked up from her research.

“Like I said, as long as I mean you no harm I can come and go as I please,” he sat on the edge of her table with Ghost Story by Jim Butcher in his open hand. 

The idea of watching Kenpachi Zaraki reading a book caused such a look of confusion to appear on her face that he was suddenly fearful that he broke her brain for a moment. She stared at him for a long while processing the scene, the idea of the character going so much against what she was seeing. She shook her head finally and went back to researching magical techniques outside of Healing or Battle.

She began to ignore his presence until he started to whistle, annoyingly. Nikki began glaring at her books in an effort to ignore him, but he only got louder. 

“Would you kindly stop whistling please?” Nikki asked of him through clenched teeth.

A devilish grin spread across his features, “I’m glad you asked that Lady Renan. For nothing could make me happier than to talk with you instead of whistling.”

Nikki rolled her eyes at him as he flounced off the table with a flourish and he bowed low before Nikki as she sat. She raised an eyebrow as the captain’s robes that Kenpachi should be wearing were replaced with a smooth black suit with a blood red undershirt, his hair pulled back into a low ponytail and the eyepatch disappeared from his face. The face itself remained the Kenpachi from Bleach, but this seemed to be Kenny. 

She stood from her table and walked back to sit in an armchair by the fireplace where she promptly lay in the chair sideways while Kenny sat in his chair regally and crossed his legs. He reminded her more of Sebastian from Black Butler rather than Kenpachi Zaraki. 

“I take it you have a topic in mind?”

“How about the destruction of Haven? It certainly has been on your mind lately, replaying over and over in that room of yours with the tv to rewatch things. Yes, I know all about it, like I said no harmful intent,” his voice remained that of Kenpachi Zaraki so it was just enough off putting to put her on edge. 

“Yeah, with my luck since I want to tackle both fronts then Corypheus will pull his forces back and have an equal amount of mages and Templars as we manage to recruit. So are you going to relay information back to Corypheus?”

Kenny smiled, “Ah, you see my dear that is where your defenses are genius, any information I gather here-”

“Can’t be told to those who would wish me harm either,” Nikki smiled at her moment of ingenuousness, “fine whatever, what do you want to know?”

“Hmm,” the demon hummed to himself, “well we could talk about your idea to go up against envy. You know he will try to become you.”

Nikki nodded at his statement, “afraid of a little competition?”

Kenny narrowed his eyes at her teasingly, “please, I already know about Compassion. He will help you and you won’t even need me, especially with you knowing you will be inside your own mind. No reason for me to interfere.”

“If you know so much about these events, why are you asking me about them?”

“Because I want you to look at your plans from an outside perspective, such as refusing to tell everyone about the destruction of Haven.”

“I could ask Lelianna to schedule an evacuation drill for that night so that no one would be drinking.”

“Ah, but you know that Lelianna will see through the request and want to know what you’ve seen. Are you willing to tell her that you knew about the destruction of Haven all along?”

Nikki stared into the fireplace as she thought, “you know what? Yeah, I think I will tell Lelianna, she knows how to manipulate things to work out to the optimal advantage, and with me telling her this far in advance she can make calculations and changes to schedules so no one would even notice or know it was me!” 

She looked at Kenny warily, but with gratitude, “thank you, I could not have come to that realization on my own. I suppose that was all your plan to endear yourself to me?”

He smiled at her, “Why of course my dear! Why else would I sit and talk with you about your troubles?”

He was an asshole, but he knew it. She decided it was time to wake up and talk with Lelianna.


	19. Chapter 19

She awoke the next day to Bull trying to slowly extract himself from around her, “damnit, I was trying not to wake you up Asala,” he grinned down at her before he swung himself on top of her, causing her to giggle as she stretched her legs out beneath his body. He kissed her into the mattress and she responded eagerly until his hand brushed against her hip, causing her to wince at the bruise that had formed from the previous night.

“You should heal those, Asala,” he whispered in her ear.

She grinned at him and felt herself glow as she willed her healing energy to come forth. Soon all evidence of the previous night was gone from their bodies and she mourned the loss of the reminders. He pulled away and sat up to retrieve their clothing.

“Bull?”

He turned back to her almost immediately, “yeah?”

“Why do you keep calling me Asala?”

Bull scratched at his chin thoughtfully, “there was this one story the Tamassrans told us kids. It was about this pair of Gemini Warriors. From the time these two were children, they were never without the other. They always seemed to know where the other was and what the other was thinking, they called each other ‘kadan’ and my Tama added another bit to the story. She said that they were Tal Asala, Soul Mates.”

He looked away from her, his only sign of discomfort at the explanation, it made sense and filled her with warm fuzzies until she brought a hand up to place some hair behind her ear and felt the angled tip of her ear. She was an elven mage now, did elves have any stories about soul mates. Could there be a reason as to why Bull affected her the way he did? She made a mental note to talk to Solas after talking with Lelianna. 

“So what now?”

Bull looked back at her seriously, “I apologize, we should have discussed things before jumping right in,” he looked deeply troubled by this until Nikki began laughing.

“No need, you and I already have the same system, my watchword is ‘Bubbles’ and some hard limits or no-no areas are: don’t mess with my feet, sounds weird, but just don’t mess with my feet. I’m not into messing with bodily fluids during sex,” Bull gave her an odd looks, so she grimaced before explaining further.

“Where I come from there are some people who get off, sexually, by peeing on other people, or by having other people pee on them, that kind of stuff,” Bull looked at her horrified and she threw up her hands in surrender, “I never said that was my thing, in fact I’m covering my bases and just saying it’s not my thing. Hell, there are people that exist where their primary form of entertainment is juggling geese.”

“Juggling geese,” Bull smiled at the absurd picture as he waited for Nikki to get ready for her day by finding a water basin and filling it up with steaming water before bathing herself.

“Baby geese, goslings really,” loathe as she was to put her clothes back on, outside of Bull’s embrace, it was getting cold. 

“So your watchword is ‘Bubbles’?”

“Yep,” Nikki let the ‘p’ pop as she stared at the shredded remains of her tunic, “you know, I don’t have another shirt.”

“Why not use magic, Solas says you need the practice anyway?” Bull lounged in a nearby chair as he watched her run around the cabin without a top. He enjoyed watching her tits bounce around, he could get used to watching her get ready in the morning.

“Because, with my luck, my magic will be too much and will cause me to sprout a sheep or something from the tunic,” she held it up to him so that he could see his damage.

Bull hummed to himself before he pulled out from one of his pouches along his belt a needle and spool of thread, “Krem got tired of sewing up the slices in my pants, so he made me start fixing them.”

Nikki smiled at him before taking the needle and thread and set about fixing her tunic enough to be presentable. She sewed a loose stitch that ran up the length of her tunic, but it remained mostly open in the front, but it covered her breasts. She slid the tunic over her head and looked down to see the slit showed about an inch of her upper body in a lengthwise strip. She looked to see Bull eyeing her hungrily.

“Didn’t get enough last night?” she teased at him.

“It’ll never be enough, Asala,” he rose from his chair and pulled her to him as he ducked his head to mesh his lips to hers. She moaned into the kiss and it was over all too soon as Bull abruptly left her embrace and opened the door, causing a burst of freezing wind to come in from the outside and hit Nikki in the middle of the chest where she had no clothing. She wrapped her arms around her upper body and glared at Bull as he laughed.

“You are such an asshole,” she shouted as she ran after him while laughing.

He stopped up the path, Haven just out of sight around the hill. He turned and wrapped Nikki in his arms one last time and made sure to breathe in her scent. He cradled her to him as he asked her the question that had been weighing on his heart, “How public do you want us?”

She looked up at him with shock and a little sadness, he didn’t want to hide their relationship. He was willing to let her set the publicity level, “Well, are you with me because you want to, or because the Qun ordered you to ‘get close to the people in charge,’ because logically I do have the ear of all the important people in the Inquisition, but-”

She was silenced by another kiss once Bull realized she was nervously babbling, “I wouldn’t call you Asala if I were with you because of the Qun. By the way, you probably know about my reputation, but so long as we’re doing this, you have my undivided attention.”

Nikki smiled to herself, “so no more Chantry sisters talking about their grateful nights with the Iron Bull,” she raised an eyebrow in challenge, yesterday morning she had heard the Chantry sisters talking about Bull near the Chantry. Bull searched her face for an indicator of what she was feeling, but he could see nothing but teasing. “I had no claim over you before, and before yesterday I was involved with casual sex with Cullen.”

“Fair enough, I’m just not used to people outside the Qun reacting like that,” he made to let her go, but she kept her grip on him firm.

“Hmm, warm,” she mumbled into her chest, “and in answer to your question, I don’t care what other people would say or not say. The people that would have the most problems with us is the people that have issues of their own to work through. So long as I know you are here because you want to be.”

Bull remained silent as his mind caught up with his actions, he knew he wanted her, cared for her even. He stood there holding her silently as snow began to fall around them, he watched the snow in thought. Would he be able to betray her and kill her if the Qun demanded it? His heart began to hammer in his chest and he struggled at maintaining even breath. She froze in his arms, she knew something was wrong with him, but how? He knew that he had struggled to maintain even breath, but he had succeeded. 

“Bull, I think I need to talk to Solas about how elves deal with the idea of soul mates. This pull I feel towards you. It makes sense on my part, but you don’t seem the type to quickly leap into a monogamous relationship with someone you just met a few weeks ago. I shouldn’t be able to read you as well as I am, it’s like I just know what is going on in your head and I don’t know how to deal with it,” she said as she took a step back from him and took his hand and led him down the path back to Haven.

“Fair enough,” as they walked Nikki moved to hug his arm and he let her, her front was probably cold.

“Do you want to come with me?” 

She sounded scared, “do you want me to come?”

“I don’t know, honestly. I know I want to hear more about that story about the Gemini warriors, I was thinking of asking Dirthara to look into it,” she trailed off as Haven’s gate came into view.

Bull noticed that they eyed Nikki as she walked up, and out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Cullen glaring at him, he’d have to deal with that later. They made their way through Haven silently in the early hours of the morning. Bull moved to open her cabin door to see Dal asleep on one bed, while Garrick was asleep on the other. 

Nikki glared at the sleeping form on her bed and Bull watched as she made her way to the bed. She silently placed a foot on the edge of the bed and arched herself over Garrick’s sleeping form. Grasping the other side of the bed she heaved her body weight to gain momentum and actually lifted the bed and flipped Garrick onto the floor as her momentum carried her to a standing position. Bull was impressed, even if he did see her body glow a bit. He had heard of Garrick’s weight from around the camp. The bed had also happened to land on top of the warrior Herald and Bull started laughing when he heard what sounded like cursing coming from under the bed.

“Are you fucking insane, woman?” Garrick finally untangled himself from the bed and blankets.

“I told you, you are the one that needs to take your bed back from Dal, that does not mean sleeping in my bed when I leave for a night,” her short stature making quite the scene as she scolded Garrick.

He looked from Nikki to Bull, “I take it you are the one that spent all night with her.”

Bull saw no animosity in his gaze, simple curiosity, so he nodded and said, “You appointed me her bodyguard.”

Garrick nodded and stepped around Nikki to stare up at him, “You break her heart, I break your spine.”

Bull saw Nikki looking at Garrick like he was the one insane, he answered the man in front of him, “glad to see she has people to care about her too, boss.”

Garrick nodded and turned around to face Nikki, “but Tama, he looks so peaceful lying there.”

“I don’t care, that doesn’t give you the right to steal my bed,” Nikki made her way to her trunk of clothes and tore her tunic off of her. Bull looked to Garrick to see that this was indeed a regular occurrence. Garrick continued to make excuses as to why he allowed the Mabari to sleep on his bed.

“Then why not sleep with him and curl around him,” Nikki asked him exasperatedly as she pulled a new tunic over her head after she had placed the breast band in it’s proper place. 

“Huh, never thought of that, maybe then I wouldn’t be so fucking cold,” Bull noticed the lit brazier that was in the middle of the cabin, it was quite warm in the cabin so Bull wondered at the Warrior Herald of Andraste. Right now he was bellying all the rumors he had heard about him, but he saw the affect it had on Nikki. She was smiling, maybe not her face, but her eyes. She enjoyed this bantering between them. 

“I need to speak with Lelianna, but first what all happened after I left yesterday?” she faced him seriously and her eyes hardened as she slipped into her role as Herald. Bull took a breath to calm himself at her actions, it was so fucking hot. In his head he ran his hand over his face, but all that showed was a slight twitching of his right eye that he saw caused Nikki’s eyes to dart to him momentarily. Of fucking course she would notice that fucking twitch of his fucking eyeball. He slipped into a neutral mask as he watched Garrick drop his joking manner.

“I advocated your idea of me seeing to the mages and you seeing to the templars, Cullen begrudgingly agreed and insisted that you have a larger party go with you, Cassandra, Sera, Solas, Vivienne, and of course your body guard, Bull.”

“But that only leaves Blackwall, Varric, and Dorian to assist you,” Nikki looked at Garrick worriedly.

Garrick smiled at her, “so Dorian comes back?”

Nikki rolled her eyes at him and as she moved past him she kissed him on the cheek and left the cabin with Bull in tow. They made their way up to the front of the Chantry and stopped at Lelianna’s tent. Bull wordlessly stood at the entrance as Nikki stepped inside and knocked on the wooden post that held up the tent.

“Come with another warning?” Lelianna asked her directly, Nikki grimaced and took a deep breath.

“Do you think we could plan an evacuation drill for the night after we seal the Breach.” Lelianna’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“What did you see?” 

“The destruction of Haven,” she looked at Lelianna with as much openness and sincerity she could manage.

Lelianna took a moment to collect herself and looked back at Nikki, “we’re calling a War meeting, now.”

Nikki took a breath and nodded as she followed Lelianna. Lelianna ordered a messenger to collect the other Herald and advisors. Nikki made the request that members of the inner circle of the Inquisition come to this meeting as well since it will concern them. Bull followed the two women as they entered the room at the back of the Chantry that held their maps and such, he made to stand outside the door until Nikki lightly touched his arm. She nodded to the room and looked at him pleadingly, “Please.”

Bull nodded and ducked his head through the doorway, one horn at a time and Nikki smiled at him in thanks. They waited in silence as they waited for the rest of the people to arrive, Josephine entered first, then Cullen, Vivienne looked around the room curiously, Cassandra and Solas entered next. Soon the room was full of people as all twelve people crowded the table.

“So, what’s the reason behind this meeting Lelianna,” Cullen looked to Lelianna, Nikki, and Bull. Nikki held her hand up a moment and touched the stone wall behind her, causing a rune to appear on the wall. Silence, Cullen realized it was the rune for Silence and was impressed with how her magic had come. 

“Our dear Lady Herald here informed me that Haven is to face imminent destruction,” Lelianna informed them all, Cassandra turned to stare at Nikki with a hard look, Garrick looked at Nikki thoughtfully before he spoke.

“Can we avoid the destruction all together?”

“No, after you and I return from dealing with the Templars and the Mages, Corypheus is going to appear and destroy Haven. I may have a plan, but we can’t tell anyone outside this room what the plan is,” Nikki looked at the table seriously.

“Oi, why can’t we warn people,” Sera objected.

“Because, it’ll cause a mass panic and will tip our hand to Corypheus. If we want to protect everyone we are going to have to make a plan and not tell anyone outside this room, if you can’t do that then you are welcome to leave. But, if you choose to leave you will not be invited to future Inner Circle meetings, you may remain with the Inquisition and everything, but you would not be included in these plans,” Garrick folded his massive arms across his chest and stared at Sera.

“Sera, my dear, if you leave now then who will voice the will of the little people?” Vivienne asked the elf from her left. 

“But if I can’t tell them, how can I be their voice?” Sera looked at Vivienne incredulously. A glimmer of hope blossomed in Nikki, before her intervention, it would have been a scathing look.

“I want to know what’s going on, so I’m going to need an answer Sera,” Garrick stared her down and she glared back at him.

“Alright, alright, I’m in, but take note of my dislike of it,” she glared at Garrick half-heartedly as he chuckled at her and clapped her on the back.

“Noted, now let’s start from the beginning, Nikki, what have you seen,” Garrick certainly adapted well to the role of leader figure.

Nikki took a breath before she began, “first off I have no idea how it’ll be here, I’ve never seen an option where there were two Heralds and they each went as separate emissaries, but I can tell you what I know. If the Herald chooses the mages and ignores the templars, then the templars would be the army that Haven would be faced with. If the Herald chooses the templars and ignores the mages, then the mages would the army Haven would be faced with. Depending on which army, they would be led by either Samson or Calpernia. However, since we have two Heralds and two directions I don’t know what the enemy will do.” Nikki looked apologetically at Cullen when she mentioned Samson.

“So who sends the armies after us,” Garrick asked.

Nikki looks to Varric, “Corypheus.”

Varric’s face hardened in anger, “bullshit.”

“I’m sorry Varric, but it’s the truth he regenerated himself. He’s alive and he’s going to come here to face off against the one who picked up the orb and let loose the energy within,” Nikki turned her gaze to look at Garrick.

“The one who was stupid enough to pick up the glowing fucking orb rolling down the hallway,” Garrick palmed the back of his neck beneath his dreadlocks. 

“Anyway, Corypheus will be heading this way with an army of some sort, Chancellor Roderick knows the path that will save the people of Haven. I propose that the night the breach is sealed, we evacuate the civilians into the catacombs beneath this Chantry. Then we will need to also turn the trebuchets towards the mountains, we can trigger certain avalanches to wipe out their numbers,” Nikki told the group.

“You have this pretty well planned out,” Garrick leaned towards Nikki.

“I’ve known about this from the beginning, I’ve been trying to come up with strategies that will ensure optimal survival. If you choose to ignore my idea in favor of your own, I will not be offended,” Nikki shrunk down into herself and Bull resisted the urge to stand between her and Garrick.

“Lelianna, find a way for Chancellor Roderick to agree to help us. Cullen, do you think you could plan an evacuation drill that just so happens to fall on that night, I want to be prepared, but I don’t want to cause a panic,” Garrick took charge of the room and divided up jobs for everyone to do.

“Oi, what are we gonna tell people when there is an army bearing down on us then?” Sera piped up.

“You make a good point, would you care to work with Josephine on something to say to them?” Garrick asked her and she blushed before she nodded. “After Haven’s destruction where did we end up going, and why can’t we go there now?”

“Because if we go there now, then there is a chance that Corypheus will find out about it and destroy it,” Nikki pointed in the mountainous area to the north.

“If it’s so easily destroyable, why do we move there?”

“Right now it’s kind of a ruin, it’s not viably defensible,” Nikki shrugged her shoulders.

“What if we sent workers to start fixing it now, in secret,” Varric asked.

“That’s not a bad idea, Varric,” Cassandra complemented the dwarf.

Lelianna pulled a more detailed map of the area out for all to see, “Are you able to tell us where this Skyhold is?”

“No, but Solas should be able to,” Nikki eyed him and Lelianna drug Solas and Varric out of the war room to make plans. Cullen left with Cassandra and Blackwall to plan troop rotations and the details of the evacuation drills. Josephine snagged both Vivienne and Sera to work together on a statement to tell the people about what was happening. 

Garrick turned to Nikki and Bull, “you guys should rest for the day, spar, roll in the hay, do something you two want to do.” He turned to leave before Nikki grabbed his arm.

“Garrick I-”

“Don’t, Tama, you probably want to tell me all the sordid details about this event, but right now I need to calm. I am going to go spar, if Bull would like to join me I would greatly appreciate it,” Garrick had trouble keeping anger out of his voice as he spoke to Nikki and Bull.

Nikki nodded, “You should go, I’ll just talk to Solas about that Asala thing after he’s done with Lelianna. In the meantime I’ll just go help Flissa till lunch. See you later,” Nikki ducked her head and meekly made her way out of the War room and headed for the tavern.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus points for anyone that caught the reference to another fandom


	20. Chapter 20

Garrick rolled his shoulders and regarded the man before him, taller than himself in this form and well muscled. He seemed the kind of man to take care of Nikki, but the sudden distance he sensed between them seemed to be from his reluctance. He watched as longing flickered deep in the man’s eyes as Tama left. Tama, the name had fit so well with her, but to keep something like this from him. It left a sour taste in his mouth that he knew he had to hit something in order to process what he was feeling. 

“Let’s head out to the sparring grounds,” Garrick nodded his head to the north and began to make his way out of the chantry and out the gates of Haven. Bull’s eye had followed Nikki’s path to the tavern and felt a rock settle in the pit of his stomach. He needed to hit something as well and was grateful that Garrick had suggested they spar.

Garrick stretched his arms across his chest as he walked, “so I prefer nonlethal unarmed sparring when I’m dealing with emotions, but I’m open for whatever.”

“Nonlethal unarmed sparring? Sound fun,” Bull growled at his companion.

Garrick nodded his agreement and stood off to one side of the sparring ring when they arrived. The warrior herald pulled his tunic over his head to reveal a  _ very _ muscled chest. Bull saw something feral cross the boss’ features and braced himself for the incoming attack. Faster than he would’ve thought possible, boss was in his face and had landed a hard punch to his right shoulder.

So powerful was the hit that it seemed to knock the wind from his lungs, Bull coughed a couple times before he grinned as he realized boss wasn’t pulling his punches today. Good, Bull threw himself into the sparring session and let himself go a bit. Bull allowed more and more of his strength to creep into his hits, just as Garrick was. By the end they would both be bloody and bruised, but neither man cared. A few minutes in Garrick began laughing and Bull joined him soon after. Fist after fist rained between the men as they tried to dodge and weave around the other, the hitting session slowly morphing into an actual sparring session that had gathered a crowd.

“I call winner,” Krem piped up from the sidelines and thus began Garrick’s morning of sparring with the entire army of the Inquisition it seemed. It took him a while to pin Bull, but the man conceded his defeat when Garrick had thrown him across the ring and Bull’s foot had landed just barely outside the ring. Bets had been exchanged and they agreed to a rematch at a later time and Garrick continued to spar with the rest of the Inquisition. With every match he felt more and more of his uncontrollable anger wither away and it seemed as if Varric had taken over as his manager of bets for him and gave him a cut of the winnings. He never asked Varric for the winnings, but the man had just come up one day after a match and given him a sack full of gold.

Today after his matches he went straight back up the hill to the tavern to see Nikki dancing between the tables serving the patrons water and ale. She was also singing along with Maryden’s songs and made sure to tip into the bard’s cup out of every tip she picked up from the table she cleaned. Garrick sat down beside Bull who had taken occupancy at a table by the door with his back to the wall. 

“Watching her work?” Garrick nudged the man next to him.

“She works the room well, increasing morale and making her approachable, but it puts her into a vulnerable position,” Bull took a drink of his watered down ale. 

“Oi, Garrick, food?” NIkki shouted across the tavern. Garrick nodded and smiled lightly at her, letting her know she was forgiven.

“What kind of a vulnerable position would that put her in?” Garrick leaned over the table and looked nonchalantly around the tavern.

“None at the moment, but when the people find out what’s going to happen, they’re going to feel betrayed. They’re going to say she should have warned them beforehand, and she wouldn’t be able to defend herself,” Bull leaned against the wall deceptively relaxed.

“Because she wouldn’t be able to tell them the truth,” that they  _ had _ been warned ahead of time and they had plans in the works to deal with it.

“Yeah,” Bull cleared his throat and took another drink as Nikki arrived with two steaming plates of food.

“Thanks Tama, smells great,” Nikki grinned at Garrick and refilled Bull’s drink by pouring both pitchers of water and ale into his tankard and smiling shyly at Bull.

Bull raised his eyebrow, “that really gets tips?”

“Depending on the customer, notice how you can see straight down my shirt?” Nikki had tilted her upper body towards Bull and he realized that he could in fact see straight down her shirt and stared at the markings that curled around on her skin. 

Bull nodded his agreement and flipped a coin into her tunic. She glared playfully at him and set the pitchers down on the table and reached into her shirt while making sure to face both men as she did so. Placing the coin in a pouch on her apron, Nikki grasped both mugs and walked away from their table with a little sashay to her hips. 

“I have an idea to deal with the backlash of these events, just in case after it happens have her surrounded by the Chargers at all times,” Garrick thought to himself for a moment, “at least until their anger calms down.”

“Agreed, I’ve already made plans to do just that,” Bull took another drink.

Garrick nodded at Bull accepting his answer, Nikki arrived with their food and this time was acting very happy and bubbly, “here’s your food boys, make sure to let me know if you need anything else!” 

Garrick leaned away from her as her voice took on a high pitched and honestly sounded like cotton candy, “okay, what’s going on here?”

“Hmm, oh! Silly me, The Iron Bull wanted to see how many different personas I could show him from when I used to waitress back home. Depending on what kind of group I was serving I would act different and I usually got more tips,” Nikki kept up the bubbly attitude throughout the explanation and Garrick was surprised she had stayed in character.

“So the tip last time meant?”

“Oh, that meant that that would have worked on him to get a bigger tip, silly goose!” she ended the sentence with a giggle and a syrupy smile. She turned with a hop and bounced away and Garrick looked between Bull and Nikki with something akin to confusion and concern. 

“What?” Bull looked at him in open question.

“You two, you act like you’re soul bonded or something,” Garrick glanced between the two suspiciously, “ _ are _ you two soul bonded?”

Bull shrugged, “Dunno, she has this theory that elves add some magical crap to us. The Qun just has horror/romance stories to scare everyone away from romantic entanglements. I only heard the one story of Tal Asala.”

Garrick nodded at him in understanding, “wait, why are you just telling me all of this?”

“She trusts you, mentioned when we were on the boat that she wanted to tell you everything she knew at some point. Said that there had already been a couple of close calls because you didn’t know something you should have. It’s been eating her up inside, boss. Make sure you talk with her, soon,” Bull nodded at him and dug into his food and Garrick did the same.

They ate and Nikki watched them from across the room, she thought back on her discussion with Solas after he told Lelianna and Varric where Skyhold was:

_ Nikki left the war room last and made her way to Lelianna’s tent and decided that she could try and help with the planning. She told Lelianna about the tunnel that ran beneath Haven that  _ The Herald _ fell into and made sure to have that stocked with healing potions just in case. When Solas began walking out of the tent, Nikki excused herself as well and walked with him back to his cabin. _

_ “It has been too long since we have conversed, Da’len,” Solas attempted at nonchalance. _

_ “Actually I wanted to ask you about something Solas,” she leaned against the wall of his cabin and crossed her arms in front of her before bringing one hand up to her mouth and she nervously chewed on her thumbnail. _

_ “What has you so nervous to simply  _ ask _ about?” _

_ “What stories, knowledge, or memories do elves have about soul mates,” Solas froze at her question, “see I was afraid of that!” _

_ Solas sighed at her, “what would cause curiosity in this subject, Da’len?” _

_ This time she shifted her feet and looked away, “do you really want me to answer that, hahren?” _

_ Solas raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment, he had heard of her escapade with Cullen and had seen how close she and Bull had become, “no I suppose not, but I don’t think that to be the case for you.” _

_ “Just tell me, please,” she looked at Solas with such worry and curiosity that he felt compelled to answer her. _

_ “Soul mates, or Isala Vhenan, as they are called in Elvish, are incredibly rare among elves, and that was thousands of years ago at the height of Arlathan,” she nodded her understanding and gestured for him to continue, “they were able to know where the other was, it seemed not to matter how far apart they were. They molded perfectly together, whatever food one hated, the other loved to eat. In battle I will admit they were much like you and Bull, but that is the only similarities I see. A mated pair of Isala Vhenan are inseparable, if they wish to be. They would be unable to find satisfaction with any other lover.” _

_ Solas paused, he seemed uneasy with the line of conversation, “Isala Vhenan would also be able to use each other's magic as if it were their own. They would be able to perform magic in tandem without any practice. _

_ “What if only one was a mage?” _

_ “Then the warrior half could command the magic of their partner, but that kind of pairing was even more rare than Isala Vhenan themselves. Either both could use magic or neither could use magic.” _

_ Nikki looked thoughtful, “thank you, Solas. That has certainly helped.” _

Nikki came back to herself as Flissa handed her her own food and she brought it over to sit with Bull and Garrick.

“Ugh, I should have know these little bastards would follow me, even here to the south,” Bull glared down at his fork which held the most beautifully cooked mushroom that Nikki had ever seen.

“Are you fucking kidding me?! I love mushrooms, they’re a great source of Vitamin D which is a nutrient that you also get from being in the sun. They’re good for you,” Nikki set her plate on the table where Bull immediately took it and moved all the mushrooms from his plate over to hers and saw there were radishes among her food.

“Weren’t you complaining about the smell of radishes on the ship to Val Royeaux?”

“Huh, aw fuck, I hate radishes,” Nikki scrunched up her face.

“You know, I happen to greatly appreciate the subtle taste of the radish,” Bull hovered his fork over her plate.

Nikki raised an eyebrow at him, “You want them, take them. Fucking hate radishes,” abruptly she gasped and straightened in her chair, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” 

“What?” Garrick asks.

Nikki looks at him, “Do you  _ really _ want to know?”

Something in her tone said that she would be telling him anything he asked for right now, “I want to know everything, Tama. After lunch, head to the cabin and talk?”

Nikki smiled at him, “kay, Bull would you mind spending the afternoon with your boys, I’m sure they miss having their chief around.” He gave her a look that said they would be discussing things later and after he finished eating he headed out of the tavern and made his way up the road to where his chargers were camped just outside the gates.

“Hey, Krem, anyone get in trouble while I was away?” he teased his lieutenant as he walked up.

“Not yet, though I wouldn’t put it past them, it only just after lunch,” Krem nodded to the south where Rocky, Skinner, and Dalish were crowded together and talking in hushed tones with a young recruit. That was never a good sign. 

Bull rolled his eye, “seems my chargers have too much energy on their hands,” he rose his voice to be heard by a large number of those around them, “how about we go through some drills. Just make sure everyone knows what they're supposed to do.”

Bull smiled at the groans that greeted him and he called out, “of course we could spend some time sparring, this morning was a great warm up.”

That usually got them going and they snapped up the hill just like he predicted. He smiled at himself, he always knew what to say to get his men riled up and ready to go. His little group of misfits stood at the ready, awaiting his order and he let them sit in silence for a minute to revel in the routine of being with his men. Little bout of teasing, and they were lined up before him. His mind suddenly wandered to another person who seemed to follow his orders even more readily than his men. He felt conflicted around her, she was quickly coming to mean more to him than the Qun. He had already modified his reports so as to downplay her power. If they knew how powerful she really was and the power he seemed to have over her, they would order him to take her to Par Vollen.

“We’re going for a run,” he suddenly ground out as he realized he needed some more physical exertion today. He smiled ruefully at his men as they predictably groaned, he led them in a wide circle that he planned to go around the perimeter of the valley itself. Soon enough Rocky began chanting random words together to help them all keep time and they ended up singing their little ‘theme’ song. 

It was fun the way they did it for training, Rocky called out, “No man can beat the Chargers!”

“Cause we’ll hit you where it hurts.”

“Unless you know a tavern,” Rocky called out again.

“With loose cards and looser skirts.”

“No matter what tomorrow holds.”

“Our horns be pointing up,” Bull thought about Nikki as they ran. She had sensed the distance that Bull had tried to put between them and had given him an out. He cursed himself for his own weakness and turned his thoughts back to his report of the Qun. If they ever found out about Nikki and his reports, he would be labeled Tal-Vashoth. That meant keeping it from the Qun which was an act that would label him Tal-Vashoth also. All for her, why? Sure, she was kind and was ready to accept anyone so long as they didn’t play any sort of race card. There was a story behind that, he’d have to find out that one later. 

That wasn’t all of it though, why was she so important to him? Why did he feel this need to protect her? He had called her Asala without even really thinking about it, but that was only because she reminded him of the Gemini warrior who had lost his Tal Asala. Wait, he called her Asala in their dreams though. He had been wondering when that would come back up in his head. 

Asala, soul. She did whatever he commanded in their dreams without a second thought. Why was that so hot? That she was just as depraved as he was? He thought back to the tamassrans in Par Vollen. When he had first explained what he wanted to try, the tamassrans looked at him oddly until they did as he wanted. She didn’t need that processing time, he spoke, she moved. She readily accepted him as he was. That was it.

He never needed to explain himself to her, she understood what he needed and seemed to enjoy catering to his whims. She had told him that as long as he was with her because  _ he  _ wanted to be with her. He knew that she meant as in  _ his _ wants and  _ his _ whims. She was so damn sexy too, hair the color of blood, small enough she could probably sit on his horns no problem. It was as if she was made just for him, maybe this was what it was like to fall in love.

They made it back to Haven and Bull saw a familiar figure waiting by Haven’s Gate. It was her, she didn’t want to change him. She took him as he was, but was willing to change and learn with him. She looked beautiful with her hair draped to one side and her arms crossed across her torso under her bosom, she seemed content to wait and watch for him.

Bull nodded to Krem, “Run them through some drills then let them have the evening.”

He broke away from the group and walked towards her, partially to calm his body from the physical exertion and to calm his mind at her presence. She seemed to materialize at his will now it seemed.


	21. Chapter 21

“Hey you,” she greeted him.

 

“Hey you,” he greeted back, “how was your talk with the boss?”

 

“It was good, it made me realize some things about me, and you...and us,” he looked closer at her to gauge her emotions. She was nervous about something, she obviously wanted to talk to him about it too. 

 

“Let’s talk somewhere then,” he nodded for her to lead them and she surprised him by leading him away from Haven and in the direction of the cabin they had shared the previous night.

 

Once they had gone a ways away from Haven, she began to speak to Bull, “So last night was great and I definitely want repeat performances. However, I think we need to discuss a few things.”

 

She kept her head down as if she didn’t know how he would react to all this, “okay, this have anything to do with me being Ben-Hassrath?”

 

“Partially,” still she refused to look up at him, just the path that led to that cabin. They entered the cabin and Bull smiled at the state of disarray it was still in. One chair was flipped over onto it's back, but Bull followed Nikki to the bedroom.

 

“You ready for another round?” He joked.

 

It caused Nikki to smile, which was his goal she knew, she grasped the rope that still hung from the wall, “at any point did you say or wish for the rope to appear last night?”

 

He watched her carefully and saw that she was glaring at the rope, he thought back to last night and thought to himself for a moment. There had to be a reason she was asking this question, so he racked his brain to remember from last night. He remembered holding her hands above her head and wishing for them to stay, he didn’t particularly care how at the time.

 

“I remember wanting your hands to stay where I held them without my hand having to be there,” he was not expecting the string of curses that left her mouth at his words.

 

“Vishante Kaffas. Mother fucking- Fenedhis,” she began hitting the wall with a closed fist before a large grey hand covered her own. She locked eyes with him and he saw the tears that threatened to fall from her face.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“I can’t fight against you,” she leaned her forehead against his bare chest and he wrapped his arms around her and he looked at the wall behind her confused, “I told Garrick everything I know about this world and we made agreements that I would teach him as many languages as I can, but then we talked about Soul Mates and Soul Bonds. Garrick said that where he’s from he’s seen some Soul Bonds where a warrior could use the magic of his Soul Bonded partner. Not through any real conscious thought of his own, but the ability to use it was there.”

 

Bull was glad she couldn’t see the scowl that crossed his features, being able to command any magic let alone  _ her _ magic was unnerving to him, “so you’re saying that if I want something, then your magic makes it happen? You got all that from rope appearing? What would you have done?”

 

He felt her shrug, “I don’t know the extent of how you can use my magic, and I probably would have just used magic to extend the wood of the wall to encompass my hands.”

 

Bull filed that piece of information away for later, “but you don’t know how I was able to use your magic? How about you start over from the beginning?”

 

“I can’t, if I tell you everything that I know, then the Qun will either demand that you bring me to them to be their little Saarebas, or in the event that I couldn’t be brought to the Qun, then they would order you to kill me,” she had no idea how right she was, he was already betraying the Qun for her. He barely fucking knew her and here he was throwing away everything for her.

 

“So if I didn’t follow the Qun,  _ then _ you would tell me everything?”

 

“Everything, but not until after the events where the Qun calls us to the Storm Coast. Until then, I don’t know what kind of relationship we could have, and while I want repeats of last night. I don’t think I could go without you now, but I can’t give myself over to you fully. Not until-”

 

“Storm Coast, gotcha. Until then, what did you have in mind, Asala?”

 

“Just like that? You’re dropping everything we were talking about? Don’t you want to know about what Solas said about ‘Soul Mates’?”

 

“Yeah, I do, but now that you’re here I just want to fuck you into oblivion,” his voice dropped a few octaves and ran his hands in sensual circles through her clothing.

 

“But Bull-”

 

“But nothing, we can talk after. Right now we’re alone in a cabin in the woods, no one would be able to hear you,” he inhaled deeply of her scent. It called to him, called to his soul. Her presence set him at ease in such a way that he hadn’t felt since he had last been in Par Vollen.

 

She moved back away from his embrace and regarded him carefully, “Bull, I want you, but there’s just so much that I need-”

 

“Shh,” he placed a finger on her lips to silence her further.

 

“But-”

 

Bull’s eye rolled in it’s socket, “open.”

 

Without thinking, her mouth opened and he inserted a finger into her waiting cavern. Her tongue swirled around his digit, tasting his grey skin and when he looked at her challengingly she began to hollow her cheeks to suck on his finger. The imagery was not lost on him and he groaned at the images and memories that popped into his head. He smiled at her devilishly and she was struck by the imagery of Bull with red skin and the similarities he had to an Earthican’s view of the devil. Well if she was going to hell, then she was going to enjoy her own personal tormentor and demon. 

 

“You are so eagerly sucking on my finger, is there something else you would like to suck more?” at his words his other hand made it’s way to pull her closer to him.

 

She leaned away from him and looked at him coyly, she reached for the bag that she had carried with her from Haven and reached inside. Grasping the rope that lay within, she brought it out into full view of Bull. He stared at the pink color of the rope and wondered at the woman before him. 

 

“It wouldn’t be fair to you not to tell you upfront how I feel about you,” she used one of her hands to turn his hands upwards to receive the rope she placed in his hands, “I trust you, The Iron Bull. I like to be restrained, I find comfort in it, so I made sure to make myself knowledgeable about it to realize when something goes wrong.”

 

He saw a deeper story in her eyes and knew he would have to wait for that story too. He looked at the rope in his hand, it was smooth with just a touch of roughness in the feel, “when did you-”

 

“I had asked Josephine to acquire it for me some time ago, it was waiting for me when I went back to the cabin with Garrick. Bull, I asked Josie for it when Garrick was in the Hinterlands the first time, before we met you. The way I feel towards you, this pull between us, I’ve always felt it, I never let myself dwell on it at the time, mostly because I didn’t think this possible at the time,” she said the last time in a mumble to herself.

 

“Watchword?” was all he said.

 

She smiled at him, “Bubbles.”

 

***

“Put your hands together in front of you,” he demonstrated that he wanted her palms facing each other as if in prayer, while pulling her to stand with him. He put her arms together and draped the rope across the back of her neck, already folded in half to double the strands. He looped the rope around her neck and tied his knot on the back of her neck. He placed a finger between her neck and the rope to test it’s tightness and curled his finger around the rope. His finger slid to the front of her throat and pulled her close to him. His kiss seared her lips and her mouth opened in a gasp granting him immediate access to her mouth.

 

His tongue slid against hers and he moaned into her mouth before he pulled back and smiled in approval, her hands were still as he had placed them. He measured a length of rope and began weaving the rest of the sizable length of rope up her arms. It was tight enough that her arms couldn’t move, but loose enough that she knew she wouldn’t lose feeling in her arms. He took his time as he meticulously wove the rope and felt her relax as the knots keeping her arms together went up the middle of her arms. 

 

Next he lifted her arms over her head and kept her arms bent to meet the knot at the back of her neck, as he lifted her arms, he made sure to keep the length of rope that connected her arms to her neck in the front was off to one side of her and pulled her hair through the loop it created. As he did so he saw that the straps on the dress she wore had buttons that could unclasp.

 

“I made my own modifications to some clothes that the people of Haven have given me,” she kept her eyes on him as he got up and pulled her up with him. He turned her around so her back faced him and she could feel him working some kind of knot to tie her hands in place. He quickly flicked the buttons of her dress to release it from her body. The dress fell away and he saw that she was naked underneath.

 

“Do you not wear any underclothes around me? Do you enjoy the idea that I might take you anywhere, anytime,” he spoke softly in her ear. Her legs trembled as she struggled to remain upright. He grasped the knot at the back of her neck, “kneel.”

 

She leaned against him and trusted him to hold her steady as she knelt, he remained behind her and leaned her against his leg for a moment as he looked down at her. He moved around her to sit on the bed, she saw that he was suddenly naked as well and she wondered when he had undressed. He leaned forward and put his elbow on his knee as he looked at her, he regarded her for a moment before he rose again and wrapped his arms around her torso and lifted her to lay her gently on the bed.

 

“Show off,” she smiled at him. He grinned at her mischievousness and immediately moved lower on her body. He moved one leg on his shoulder kissing her inner thigh as he placed his other leg on his horn, opening her legs before him. She shuddered in anticipation as his lips made contact with hers. His tongue ran the length of her heat and he turned his mouth to nibble on her lips causing her to laugh involuntarily. “You ass!”

 

She felt him grin against her and he brought his hands up to spread her lips before him, he moved his face to bury his nose between her folds and he inhaled deeply of her scent before he slid his tongue between her folds. She moaned and tried to buck her hips against his mouth, but his arms held her in place. She was completely at his mercy and she moaned as the thought aroused her further. She relaxed as she gave herself partially over to his will, she felt her mind relax as the day’s events settled themselves in her mind. His movements were lazy as he felt her relax, he gave her time to settle her mind. He knew that he didn’t have to tell her that outside that cabin, nothing else existed, nothing else mattered.

 

“You ready Asala?” his voice muffled by her lips. 

 

She shuddered against him as she nodded, “yes sir.”

 

His eyebrow lifted in reply before he began to torture her beautifully with his tongue. She couldn’t help the moans that escaped her lips as she shuddered against him. Time seemed to stretch forever and just as she was on the cusp of her mounting pleasure, he pulled back. She took the moment to catch her breath and her head leaned against her arms behind her head.

 

“Pain is no stranger to you, but I will never hurt you without your permission,” he placed her legs on the bed and flopped next to her.

 

“You want to mark me,” she shrugged her shoulders against her neck.

 

“But you will heal the marks I give you before we leave this cabin. For now those marks are for this place.”

 

Her brow furrowed in seriousness, “yes sir.”

 

“Good, then I have permission to mark you?”

 

“Yes sir.”

 

Bull pulled himself to hover over her and began to assault her breasts, the first nipple was pinched and rolled between his fingers viciously, the other breast was cupped as his mouth latched to her nipple. His tongue swirled across her peak and she arched into him. His growing erection slid against her heat, she moaned and bucked against him as he continued his ministrations. 

 

Bull felt her shudder against him and she cried out, “I-I”

 

He smiled at her attempt to do as he had told her last time, he pulled back and slid one hand down her body to slide his fingers inside her. First one slid inside and after swirling his digit inside her, he added a second finger, then quickly added a third. Pain blossomed from her core and she surrendered herself to it, reveled in it. This time when she came on his fingers, he quickly removed his fingers and in the throes of her climax he snapped his hips to hers and buried his member deep inside her. Her legs tightened around him and it felt as if her mind broke for a moment. She didn’t know how to handle the sensations her body was experiencing and was unable to help the tumult of noises that flowed from her mouth.

 

He remained still within her as he felt her shudder as she came down from her momentary high. She stretched her upper body against his as she arched her back off the bed. In this moment she was laid bare before him, this was who she was. He smirked at her and moved his mouth to suck on the side of her breast. He rocked against her driving his cock deep within her, his pace languid and relaxed. His teeth made indentations on her breast that caused her to arch further into him and he wrapped his arm around her. He held her for a moment before he flopped her back on the bed and pulled away from her.

 

He grinned devilishly at her and quickly flipped her onto her belly and once more entered her, but this time from behind and he pulled her upwards so her back arched her breasts into the air. Nikki saw a mirror in the corner of the room that she hadn’t noticed before then. She could see the marks he had left on her body and watched as his hands came up and roughly grasped her breasts. He fucked her roughly as she stared at the purple mark on her breast blossom into a dark flower on her skin. She groaned as her breasts pulled on her mark, stretching the sore area and her pleasure mounted even more when he started to talk.

 

“Asala, you’re so beautiful. Maybe I’ll let you keep that one,” his hand grasped her sore breast and massaged it in his hand. She groaned in pleasure again as he whispered in her ear, “would you like that? To keep my mark on you so you can feel and see it at any time?”

 

She bit her lip as she nodded and gasped out, “yes, please sir.”

 

“Maybe if you’re a good girl, Asala, do you want to be a good girl? Or do you want to be a little naughty?” his hips snapped to her ass, driving his cock inside her at a different angle causing her to groan in pleasure.

 

“I’ll be a good girl, please sir,” she could feel him grinning behind her.

 

“Well then, we’ll have to change some things around,” he quickly released her ropes and pushed her forward to land on the bed, Nikki grinned as she turned midair to land on her back with her hands still behind her head. “Now who’s showing off?”

 

She grinned at his tease, “where would you like me, sir?”

 

He nodded for her to stand and he placed himself against the wall and pulled her to lay between his legs, “I want you here, I want you to show me how you feel for me, pleasure me how you want.”

 

She looked at him and in that moment he had never been more beautiful, he had just given her free reign to touch his glorious skin. Her finger reached out to touch his leg and opened herself to explore him. Her head leveled with his member and her tongue reached out to lick and taste him. She placed her other hand on his other thigh and raised herself up to run her tongue the length of him. 

 

He groaned at her actions, “Not one for foreplay, huh?” he chuckled at her.

 

She smiled as she looked up at him, “you told me to pleasure you how I want, I want to suck your glorious cock.”

 

He blinked at her bluntness and was caught off guard as she encompassed his cock in her mouth, “Well, fuck. Can’t argue with that logic.”

 

Her tongue circled around his cock in response, and she began to bob her head, dragging her lips across his shaft. He rested his hand on her head and looked down at her to see that she was looking up at him, watching his expression. Her tongue suddenly began stroking up and down his shaft while his cock remained within her mouth and he felt her relax her jaw. The sudden sensation caused his muscles to retract and she caused him to come without him expecting it. He didn’t know how to feel about that, but he certainly liked the sensation and was still ready to continue. Her mouth popped off his member and she smiled at him, she then began to touch and feel his muscles, his skin. She moved to kiss his scars and he watched her as she carefully kissed his scars. She touched him almost reverently as she kissed her way up his torso. 

***

 

Suddenly his face distorted in thought, “it wouldn’t be good for you or for me to sleep here again.”

  
“I know,” she sighed and leaned into him, “let's go, Bull.” Her mood shifted and she hopped over to the edge of the bed and pulled herself upright. He watched her as she pulled her dress back up and over herself.

 

“You can leave that mark we talked about,” she paused at his words, she smiled and bit her lip to herself as she handed him his pants. 

 

Then she looked down at herself and frowned, “but I always heal too much and such like that.”

 

Bull smiled, “I have a theory about that, you said even your magic obeyed me?” at her nod he continue, “then you will leave that mark unhealed.” His tone took a commanding tone and as she began to heal herself she felt her magic stay away from that area of her breast, and only that area. 

 

He got up and pulled the front of her dress out and peered down at her breast to see his mark still there, “Hah, I was right.” his face turned thoughtful, “it’s like i’m your Arvaarad, only I don’t need a control rod.”

 

She grinned at him, “oh you definitely have a control rod, Bull.”

 

He guffawed at her joke, “don’t know of many control rods that could lead to imekari.”

 

She smacked his hand away from her, “don’t even joke like that, bad juju.”

 

“Bad juju?” he pulled on his pants and buckled his harness across his chest.

 

“You really want to be saddled with a kid in the middle of all this shit?” 

 

“The Tamassrans told me not to worry about it,” he shrugged.

 

“Because it wasn’t possible or because they thought you were having casual sex across Orlais?”

 

He frowned, “hmm. Never thought of that.”

 

She nodded, “figured, good thing I’ve been brewing contraceptives with Adan.”

 

“Have you really?”

 

“Yep, figured magic wasn’t a good thing to use at the time since I couldn’t control it without my personal Arvaarad,” she teased at him again. They began to make their way out of the cabin and talked the whole way back to Haven where they were greeted by an Inquisition soldier that Nikki recognized as Jim. 

 

“Lady Herald, Sister Lelianna, The Commander, and Lady Josephine want both you and the Lord Herald to head up to the Chantry, right away.”

 

“Thanks Jim, don’t work yourself too hard,” Nikki called to his retreating form. 

 

“Yeah, yeah Tama,” he waved at her as he walked away.

 

“Come on, let’s see what happened,” Nikki nodded for the Chantry.

 

They walked up and saw Garrick walking up with Cassandra, both had a sheen of sweat and Bull thought he could detect a hint of sex between the two, but he couldn’t be sure since he knew the stench of sex clung to him and was grateful that no one else had a Qunari’s senses.


	22. In Hushed Whispers

Garrick walked up with Cassandra after Jim had found them just exiting her tent. He walked up and as the Chantry came into view, Tama and Bull were walking up. He swore he detected a hint of sex in their scents, but he couldn’t be sure since he knew the stench of sex clung to him and was grateful that no one else had his senses. Just as he had heard the Lord Seeker in Val Royeaux, he heard the whispered conversations that always seemed to follow him wherever he went. He envied Tama for not being able to hear all the things the soldiers said about her ‘serving’ them. Cassandra had provided a distraction from his thoughts for a bit. His mind turned back to the events that had been perfectly timed:

 

_ *** _

_ He had come back to his cabin and saw Cassandra lying naked on his bed, the Mabari was mysteriously absent. His cock sprang to life and he didn’t have to ask what she had come to his cabin for. Wordlessly he crossed the room and stripped himself of his clothing easily and eagerly. His hand went to her breast immediately and she moaned as he roughly twisted it in his grip. His mouth covered hers and their tongues did their dance as she tried to fight for control of the kiss. He smirked against her mouth as his other hand came and did the same to her other breast and his knee nudged her legs open. She gasped and writhed beneath him as he pressed his knee against her heat.  _

 

_ She began to rub herself against his leg and he hummed happily as he felt her juices begin coating his leg and her tongue gave up the battle in their mouths. His hands stopped crushing her breasts and he raked his fingers down her stomach to her core and he shifted lower. His mouth latched onto her breast, and while one hand remained on her other breast his other hand drifted down her stomach. He feathered his touch against her reddened stomach and she shuddered beneath him.  _

 

_ She continued to buck her hips against him since he had moved his leg and she began to grow desperate for some source of friction. She keened wildly against him and his hand finally cupped her core and his fingers spread her lips wide for his finger to tease and rub against her clit. She tried to arch herself into him, but was held in place by his weight on top of her. Finally she shuddered her climax against him and right as she reached her peak she felt him line himself up with her entrance. He slammed himself home and he groaned against her lips as he crashed them together. Her scream was muffled by his kiss as his tongue plundered her mouth once again.  _

 

_ He moved within her at his pace and she surrendered to his actions. She held herself tightly against him as he roughly fucked her into his bed. Finally he spilled his seed within her and just as he toppled himself to her side a knock sounded at the door. _

_ *** _

 

“Hey, Gar, you know what they’re calling us back for?”

 

“No, tama I don’t, great seer doesn’t know?” he lightly teased her, causing her to smile at him.

 

“The great Seer and Heart of the Inquisition knows all, sees all, ser Garrick,” she said dramatically while Bull looked around to see that a chantry sister had seen Nikki’s display and was looking at her in awe. He nearly groaned aloud, but instead he ushered the group inside the war room, where Josephine, Lelianna, and Cullen were waiting for them. 

 

“Lord and Lady Herald, we would like to inform the both of you that we have all agreed upon Lady Nikita’s idea. She will leave to meet with the templars at the end of the week,” Josephine addressed the group.

 

“Meanwhile, the Lord Herald will leave at the end of the week to head to Redcliffe, we received word this afternoon from a Magister Alexius,” Lelianna reported. 

 

“And I will personally be going with the Lady Herald to meet with the Templars, maybe a former templar can help to bend their ear to listen,” Commander Cullen spoke in a tone that brooked no argument. Cullen watched the Lady Herald closely to gauge her reaction, she sighed as if weary and nodded her agreement.

 

“I see the merit in it even though I will be perfectly safe,” she shrugged her shoulders and stifled a yawn, “It is late, we should all take this week to rest and prepare.”

 

“Agreed, we will also make preparations while you are gone as well,” Lelianna assured them as they all left and made their ways to their own beds. Nikki curled under her covers moments later watching Garrick get comfortable sleeping around the giant dog that had taken over his bed. She smiled to herself and settled herself in to sleep.

 

That week was spent with Nikki training with Bull and his Chargers in the morning on combat routines and she grew more comfortable around the Chargers and got to know the ones not mentioned in the game like Carla, a dalish elf that had an affinity towards templar abilities. Nikki wasn’t sure whether she was a templar, but that’s what Bull called her. Nathaniel, a sweet teenage boy that followed stitches around like a lost puppy, Bull called him Mender. When Nikki had first seen him, she swore he looked just like Jimmy Palmer from NCIS. 

 

Her afternoons were spent practicing her magic with Solas and Bull present. He mostly stood off to the side and let them have their time together while she showed off how good she was with her magic now. She still healed in a readius, but neither she nor Bull saw a problem with that which was probably why she did it. The week came and went and Nikki was outfitted with her own special set of armor made out of the softest leathers on the inside, while being functional and sturdy on the outside. Harrit and his men had made it for her as a surprise and as thanks for healing them. Dorian arrived the day they were to leave, and even though he grumbled about having to leave right upon his arrival, he made sure to travel with them.

 

They all left Haven together and camped at the base of the mountain, where their paths would diverge. They all spent the night together and Nikki sat next to Dorian at the campfire that night.

 

“Ah, Lady Herald you honor me with your presence,” he spoke with a flourish.

 

“Ugh, give it a rest, Sparkler, no one needs to be so over the top all the time!” Varric teased.

 

Nikki laughed as they began to banter back and forth, she looked to her other side to see Sera and Vivienne knitting together in silence, she was surprised by the common ground between them. Honestly she had gotten lucky there, their bickering had gotten on her nerves so bad she began listing hobbies to see if they had anything in common. At the end of her rope she listed knitting and the two women had hit it off from there. By no means were they friends, but they were civil towards each other and they were enjoyable to be around. Solas and Cassandra looked rather involved in their books, but she could see the smiles tugging that the corner of their mouths every so often from the conversations between Dorian and Varric, which Garrick and Bull had joined in. Blackwall sat off to himself, whittling away at a piece of wood that looked to be becoming a toy griffin. 

 

The next morning the group split and headed their separate ways, Garrick, Dorian, Blackwall, and Varric for the Mages. Nikki, Bull, Cassandra, Sera, Solas, and Vivienne headed for the templars in Therinfal Redoubt. 

 

Garrick entered the entryway of Redcliffe’s castle with Blackwall and Varric, they were greeted by two guards dressed in Venatori garb. A servant walked up and spoke to them, “The magister’s invitation was for the Lord Herald alone, the others will wait here.”

 

Garrick knew that it would be idiotic to go in alone, “Where I go, they go.” He stared down the servant who reluctantly nodded his agreement and led them to the throne room. The servant led them up to the raised throne and announced them.

 

“My Lord Magister, The Agents of the Inquisition have arrived.”

 

The magister rose to his feet, “My friend! It’s so good to see you again and your associates, of course. I’m sure we can work out some arrangement that is equitable to all parties.”

 

Grand Enchanter Fiona walked up, “Are we mages to have no voice in deciding our fate?”

 

“Fiona, you would not have turned your followers over to my care, if you did not trust me with their lives.” He reminded her gravely.

 

“Of course she trusts you Alexius, you just have one of those faces that just oozes trust. People must flock to you to place their lives in your hands,” Garrick snarled at the magister sarcastically.

 

“Yes, the magisterium tells me that so often. Shall we begin our talks, Lord Herald?” he spoke the title mockingly. He turned back and sat down on his throne, “The Inquisition needs mages to close the breach and I have them, so what will you offer in exchange?”

 

“Nothing at all, I’m just going to take the mages and leave.”

 

“And how do you imagine to accomplish such a feat?”

 

Felix turned to his father and spoke sadly, “he know’s everything father.”

 

“Felix, what have you done?”

 

“We sort of disabled your trap before coming here, oops,” Garrick grinned at the magister.

 

The man rose from his throne and spoke to him angrily, “You’re nothing but a mistake.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, Elder One blah blah blah.”

 

“It was the Elder One’s moment and you are unworthy to stand in his presence.”

 

“Father, listen to yourself! Do you know what you sound like?” Felix pleaded with his father.

 

“He sounds exactly like the sort of villainous cliche everyone expects us to be,” Dorian sauntered in to distract from the arrival of the Inquisition agents.

 

“Dorian,” the magister’s eyes narrowed at the mage, “I gave you a chance to be a part of this, you turned me down. The Elder One has power you would not believe. He will rise the Imperium from it's own ashes.”

 

“You sound like a fanatic, when should we be expecting the announcement,” Garrick shot at Alexius. Dorian could not help the smile that graced his features at the man’s words.

 

“He will make the world bow to mages once more. We will rule from the Boeric Ocean to the Frozen Seas.” Alexius glared at Garrick.

 

“You can’t involve my people in this,” Fiona shouted from the side.

 

“Alexius, this is exactly what you and I talked about  _ never  _ wanting to happen! Why would you support this?”

 

“Stop this father, before it’s too late. Give up the Venatori. Let the southern mages fight the Breach and let’s go home,” Felix pleaded with his father once more. 

 

“No! It’s the only way, Felix. He can save you!” Alexius argued back to his son. 

 

“Save me?”

 

“There is a way. The elder one promised, if I undo the mistake at the temple.”

 

“I’m going to die, you need to accept that.”

 

“Seize them Venatori, The Elder One demands this man’s life!” Alexius ordered the guards that were no longer there. Garrick had been watching as Inquisition agents had replaced his Venatori Agents silently and swiftly. He was impressed, Lelianna’s people were certainly worth their salt. 

 

“Your men are dead, Alexius,” Garrick taunted at the magister.

 

“You are a mistake, you should never have existed,” Alexius began charging his magic through the amulet he held in his hand.

 

Dorian immediately reacted, “no!”

 

Dorian flung his magic to disrupt Alexius’ spell and both he and Garrick got pulled through the vortex of Alexius’ spell. The next thing Garrick knew, he was falling and landed in a flooded room. He heard someone fall with him and looked to see Dorian at his side, well at least he would have some eye candy while on this adventure. They heard footsteps sloshing through the water and Garrick saw two guards arrive.

 

“Blood of the Elder One! Where’d they come from?” Garrick smirked as he moved forward to meet them, their swords were drawn and before Dorian could shout a warning. Garrick had both men’s faces under water, his hands cutting off their airways. Dorian stared at him in shock as Garrick calmly held both men under the water until they stopped moving.

 

“We don’t need anyone to know we’re here, the less noise we make, the easier it’ll be to sneak around and gather information, like where we are,” Garrick calmly explained before moving through the men’s pockets incase they had any sort of key, just in case. “What do you think Alexius did with his magic?”

 

“Displacement? It’s probably not what Alexius intended. The rift must have moved us...to what? The closest confluence of arcane energy? The last place we were was the castle hall yes? Well, let’s see, if we’re still in the castle, it isn’t...oh! Of course! It’s not simply where, it’s when! Alexius used the amulet as a focus, it moved us through time!”

 

“You’re shitting me,” suddenly he grinned, “finally my own time travel adventure, sweet!”

 

Dorian looked at his companion as if he had gone mad, he had to admit though at least he wasn’t alone on this venture and at least he had something nice to look at, namely the Lord Herald’s toned ass.

 

“Now the question is how far in time did we go and did we go forward or backwards?”

 

“Good questions, let's get a move on and find out.”

 

“Right behind you,” Dorian followed his companion as he led the way through the castle. What they saw as they moved through the castle was disturbing. Red Lyrium was growing out of the walls and the floor. It’s singing called to Garrick’s primal side and made a note to not rage here, there’s no telling what would happen. They made their way through the lower cells and found stairs leading to what appeared to be upper cells. The next person they saw was the elven servant that had first greeted them in Redcliffe.

 

“Andraste blessed me, Andraste blessed me. My tears are my sins, my sins, my sins,...Andraste guide me, Andraste guide me,” he chanted on, but Garrick had heard enough and led Dorian out of there and up more stairs to meet with more venatori agents that Garrick quickly dispatched as he put forth his speed and pushed both guards over the edge of the suspended platform.

 

“So you mentioned the other night that you weren’t from here?” Dorian queried.

 

“Yeah, I’m from another world entirely, so is tama. Though we aren’t from the same world,” he responded.

 

“And here you are just telling me this?” Dorian smiled at the open honesty of Garrick’s statements.

 

“Yeah, we told everyone else recently, just make sure that whoever to talk to about my homeland is a part of the inner circle.”

 

“Yes, the general populace hears that you are from another world and there will be no end to the claims that Andraste pulled you from your homeland to help us,” Dorian looked genuinely worried for the other man.

 

“Yeah, more or less. Based on what i’ve been told about this place’s history i’m thinking we went forward in time, so as long as we are able to find a way back, then maybe we can change things.”

 

They continued down one side and found more prison cells, all empty save the red lyrium that seemed to occupy many of the cells. The sudden increase of red lyrium caused Garrick’s skin to crawl as he fought off the singing in his head. They came to end of the row to see the Former Grand Enchanter Fiona, somehow alive with what appeared to be red lyrium growing out of her. They approached her cell and she spoke to them gaspingly.

 

“You’re alive? How? I saw you...disappear...into the rift.”

 

“Why is red lyrium growing out of you,” Garrick tried not to snarl at the woman and Dorian saw the struggle that Garrick seemed to be having.

 

“It’s a disease, the longer you’re near it...eventually...you become this, then they mine your corpse for more.”

 

“Can you tell us the date, it’s very important,” Dorian stepped forward and placed a hand on Garrick’s shoulder. He noticed the man was very warm and was suddenly curious as to what his odd looking hair felt like. He was so distracted, he nearly didn’t hear Fiona’s response.

 

“Harvestmere...9:43 Dragon.”

 

“Nine forty three, then we’ve missed two whole years. Do you know anything else about what has happened,” Dorian returned focus to gathering information. Garrick was comfortable with that and set his mind to thinking of things to help them when they got back.

 

“Alexius...serves the Elder One. More powerful than the Maker...No one challenges and lives...except one. I had heard rumors...of the Lady Herald...she was captured and now serves him,” Fiona continued to struggle.

 

“Tama, you heard about tama? What do you mean she now serves him?” Garrick looked frantic.

 

“All I know is that she serves...at the head of his armies,” Fiona gasped against the wall that was supporting her.

 

“Our only hope to set things right is to find the amulet Alexius used to send us here. If it still exists, then I can use it to reopen the rift at the exact spot we left, maybe,” Dorian spoke objectively.

 

“Good,” Fiona sounded relieved.

 

“I said maybe, it might also turn us into paste.” Garrick appreciated Dorian’s blunt honesty.

 

“You must try,” Fiona said hopefully, “Your spymaster, Lelianna, ...she is here. You must find her. Quickly...before the Elder One ...learns you’re here.” Fiona passed out, causing an end to the conversation. Garrick nearly ran the way back out of there and Dorian found him back in the room with the hanging platform of a floor. He saw the Garrick was emptying the contents of his stomach over the edge of the platform. Without a second thought, Dorian moved to hold the man’s hair away from his face. Dorian couldn’t help but marvel at the softness of the strands that he held between his fingers. 

 

“Are you alright?” Dorian asked concerned.

 

“I’m fine, it seems the red lyrium sings to me. I don’t know why I’m able to resist it, but I’m thankful about it,” Garrick responded as he wiped his mouth, “Let’s get a move on, the sooner we get out of here, the better. They made their way across to the other side, there they saw Blackwall inside a cell.

 

“Andraste have mercy! You shouldn’t be here. The dead should rest in peace,” Blackwall spoke as they approached. What unnerved Garrick the most was the red lyrium that seemed to sing from Blackwall himself, Garrick could hear it and grew quiet from the noise. Suddenly Dorian’s hand was against his forehead and his head began to feel better.

 

“See us, all not dead,” Dorian spoke for them as he blocked the song of the lyrium from his companion’s mind. 

 

“I was there, I saw you fall! Alexius’ spell left nothing but ash!”

 

“Alexius’ spell didn’t kill us, it sent us forward in time. That’s how we survived,” Dorian explained further.

 

“Tama, what about tama, did you hear anything about her?” Garrick suddenly approached Blackwall’s bars as Dorian moved to open the cell door. 

 

“Aye, she mounted a rescue after the rest of us were captured, Varric should be around here somewhere. He would be able to tell you more.” Blackwall looked decidedly uneasy at the line of questioning.

 

“Fine, let’s find Varric,” Garrick led the group to another set of cells and found Varric.

 

“Andraste’s sacred knickers, you’re alive? I know Tama said you would be, but where the hell have you been Ghost?”

 

“Alexius sent us into the future, didn’t tama tell you that when she said I would be alive?” Garrick asked him.

 

“No,” Varric shook his head sadly as Dorian opened his cell door. “By the time she rescued us, she was pretty far gone with problems of her own. After you disappeared, she took it hard. She became a recluse and only allowed Bull around her, so when his people came to her with an alliance, she agreed to help them out. I don’t know what happened that mission, but everything went to shit. She was captured by the Venatori forces and Bull became Tal-Vashoth, then he left with his chargers to look for her and I don’t know what happened to them all after that. I know that she now leads his armies, but it only happened after Bull disappeared with the Chargers to go after her.”

 

Garrick nodded that he understood the information that was given to him. The group made their way back to the room with the suspended floor and made their way up the third path. Eventually they got to a door where Garrick could smell Lelianna behind it and they all heard her cries of pain as she was tortured.

 

“There’s no use to this defiance, little bird. There’s no one left for you to protect.” the man picked up a nearby knife and held it to Lelianna’s throat as Garrick burst through the door, causing her torturer to turn his back to her. Lelianna quickly used the distraction to her advantage and quickly dispatched of her torturer. Garrick came over and solemnly undid her bindings.

 

“You came, Nikki told me you would come, she told me to hold on no matter what until you came. I held on, anger is stronger than any pain,” she told him.

 

“I know that feeling,” he agreed. He handed her the nice looking bow he had picked up from one of their attackers. Garrick and Lelianna led the way through the castle, their anger leading them to the heart of the castle and eventually to Alexius’ chambers. Lelianna dispatched Felix while Garrick killed Alexius before the man could have a chance to fight back. 

 

“Luckily this is the same amulet I helped him to develop in Minrathous give me an hour and I should be able to work out the spell he used,” Dorian looked at the amulet thoughtfully.

 

“An hour, that’s impossible. You must go now,” Lelianna urged them.

 

“Why, what’s going on?”

 

“He’s coming, the Elder One and the leader of his armies,” Lelianna told them gravely.

 

“Nikki,” Garrick spoke, and Lelianna nodded confirmation.

 

“We need to go, now,” Garrick pulled Dorian to the back of the hall.

 

“You have as much time as I have arrows,” Lelianna spoke as she stood guard in front of the now closed door with Blackwall and Varric on the other side.

 

Garrick felt helpless as he could do nothing but sit, wait, and watch as Dorian charged his magic after all had gone silent for a moment, his Tama burst through the door. She was floating in the air, suspended by her magic and she seemed to be wearing a collar that led to the hand of The Iron Bull. The chain glittered between them and Garrick could see that red lyrium grew out of Bull’s head as he shouted at Nikki in a language he couldn’t understand. Luckily Dorian cast his spell and Garrick was sent back to his present before he could see more. What he  _ had _ seen was enough to haunt his nightmares for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to start posting this as I go, so as of right now I'm caught up with myself and I'm currently working on the next chappie! :)


	23. Champions of the Just

Nikki watched as Garrick’s group split off from theirs and they made their way along the path to Therinfal Redoubt. They met up with the group of nobles that would pave their way into the fortress and Nikki struggled to keep her tongue civil among the more haughty nobles. They were greeted at the gates by Ser Barris, Nikki smiled warmly at him as she did as was asked of her. She placed the flag of the people at the highest point, while the Maker and Templar flags were at lower points. 

 

“I am to ask as to the reason for your choices my lady,” he looked genuinely curious as to what she thought.

 

“Without the people, Templars have noone to protect and therefore have no reason to exist. The Maker has shown his hand in not helping us here in Thedas, the Breach in the sky makes that rather obvious. Without the People, then there is no empire, no future,” she spoke confidently. “Basically without the People and without looking out for them, the world will eventually fall apart.”

 

“Hmm, never heard it put quite like that before, you make a fair point, milady” Barris nodded to her. 

 

He led them over to a chamber to await the arrival of the Lord Seeker. Their noble escort began to walk around to the other side of the table when the Knight-Captain walked in instead of Lord Seeker Lucius. Nikki tried to grab his arm before he got to the other side of the table, she had briefed the group about the ambush awaiting them once they had split from Garrick’s party. Despite the group’s warning from Nikki, the noble was still caught by surprise and was killed instantly. The red templars in the room were taken down quickly after that and the Knight-captain was managed to be captured alive. Ser Barris led their way to the courtyard and they fought their way through the courtyard. 

 

They reached the peak of the fortress and Nikki signaled for the others to stay back a moment as she approached the Lord Seeker alone. He swiftly turned and grasped her head in his hands and she was suddenly somewhere else, just as she expected. What she did not expect was seeing the familiar walls of her home with her parents. The only difference was that it was silent in the normally rambunctious house. 

 

“Hello, is anyone there,” she called out. The moment the words left her mouth she nearly smacked herself in the head. She knew where she was, she knew no one would answer except for the Envy demon.

 

The form of her sister came through a doorway into the room, “Is this shape useful? Will it let me know you, Renan? Everything tells me a bit about you. So will this: Watch.”

 

Her brother came through the same doorway, but his eyes were lifeless as he walked to her sister. A knife appeared in her sister’s hand and it was brought up to her brother’s throat. Nikki remained as still as she could and fought to not show any emotion as she watched her sister slit her brother’s throat. Blood sprayed all over her sister, her tongue licking at the side of her mouth to taste it. It became that much harder to remain still and blank for Nikki. Her sister tilted her head and began to back away into darkness.

 

One of her nephews came running around the corner and hugged her legs. Tears prickled at her eyes as a sense of longing filled her, but she remained still. The child looked up at her and cocked his head curiously. 

 

A dagger appeared in his hand as well and the demon began talking through him, “Being you will be so much more interesting than being the Lord Seeker. Do you know what the Inquisition can become? You’ll see. When I’m done, the Elder One will make you his bride and during that process I will become you until you are made ready. Glory is coming, and the Elder One want you to serve him, even the Maker had a bride.” Revulsion filled her at his words, they were made even more creepy by her nephew’s child-like voice. Her nephew ran off and her mother appeared before her. “I am not Desire, I will not be ignored. I am Envy and I will know you! Tell me what you think, tell me what you feel, tell me what you see.”

 

She had finally had enough and ran out of the house and into the Chantry dungeons, she saw Garrick held at sword point in front of Cassandra. Just like at the beginning, she was accusing him of committing crimes that he didn’t commit. This time however she drew her sword and proceeded to chop off his head. Bile rose in her throat as Garrick’s head rolled towards her and stopped right at her feet. She looked down in horror as Garrick’s face grinned up at her. She ran again and was in an unfamiliar stone room with fire spouting out of pillars that trapped her in a maze she couldn’t get through. She made her way to the side to a door and hastily went through it.

 

“Cole! Cole, I know you’re here,” she called out desperately, needing a familiar kind face right then. 

 

“You know me, but I don’t know you. You make ripples! You’re the Renan!” Cole called out excitedly, “Envy is hurting you. Mirrors on mirrors on memories. A face it can feel, but not fake. I want to help.” 

 

He appeared before her and before she could think better of it she wrapped her arms around Cole in a crushing hug. He hesitated before he hugged her back and she relaxed into his arms. Tears began flowing from her eyes and she cried into his shoulder for a moment.

 

“You know what you have to do already, you don’t need me.”

 

“Of course I need you, you being here makes this easier,” Nikki wiped the tears from her eyes and pulled back from him.

 

They left the room and Nikki thought of water, every aspect of it and the fire from the pillars turned to water which she gladly walked through and felt calmed by the water washing over her. Once they left the room they had been in, Envy began taunting her anew. He showed her images of  _ his _ Inquisition. She watched as Envy guided Garrick and the Inquisition down a path of destruction. Cole whispered words of encouragement to her, causing Envy to yell at him and Nikki to giggle. She came next to the prison cells where she saw Mother Giselle, Josephine, Cullen, and the odd familiar face of ‘Kenny’.

 

“Hello,” he spoke calmly as he kept reading his book.

 

“Why are you in my head?” she demanded of him.

 

“Envy brought me here, probably to try and throw you off balance, but it’s not going to work.” He snapped the book shut dramatically. “Renan, you are going to get out of here and beat him. Then we’ll go back to our little game in the Fade.” He gave her a hard look as she glared at him.

 

“I will do those things, but not because  _ you _ told me to,” she turned and walked away with a huff, causing Kenny to chuckle at her.

 

“Keep an eye on that one Compassion, I want her in one piece when I take her,” he called after them.

 

“I won’t let him take you,” Cole said determinedly as he followed her. She smiled at him in gratitude and continued on her way.

 

She lit the braziers just as she remembered, but at the last interval she saw a door with a beautiful dragon carved into the entirety of the door. Curiosity got the better of her and she set her torch down and went through the door. Suddenly she stood on the bridge of the Enterprise, but it was also empty and on the main screen was an image of Solas sleeping in Skyhold. It was different though, he looked younger and had hair. Thick black dreads fell off the side of the bed, they were so long. Flemeth joined him on screen and was without clothing to cover her body. She was enraptured by the image as Flemeth approached him.

 

***

Flemeth smiled down at his form and gently pulled his clothes from his body. Once he was laid bare beneath her she turned her attention to the appendage that had begun to grow from her ministrations. First her hand stroked up and down his shaft and Nikki watched as Flemeth’s other hand snaked down her own body and began to pleasure herself as well. She moaned as her own pleasure mounted and once Solas was at full attention she climbed on top of him. Her fingers remained between her legs and spread her lips to ease his entrance into her. She groaned at the feeling of him filling her and kept one hand where they joined as her other went to her breast. 

 

Solas moaned in his sleep and began to thrust his hips upward into Flemeth’s body. The hand on her breast began to massage and tweak at her nipple as she rode him to her completion. She kept rotating her hips and moving herself up and down his shaft until she felt him empty himself inside of her.

***

 

Flemeth climbed off of him and worked to gently reclothe the mage, “thank you, old friend.” With that she left him and Nikki was left wondering whether what she was seeing was actual history of this world, or a memory of a fanfiction she had read. Funnily enough she couldn’t remember reading any Mythal/Fen’Harel fanfictions. She pushed the images from her mind and continued her journey through her mind to confront the Envy demon. She ran up the stairs to the forested area where she his from the people she knew would attack her. She snuck past them and made her way up the replica of Therinfal Redoubt to the peak where she had first met with Envy. 

 

Once she reached the top a shadowed image of herself appeared behind her and pushed her against the door. “Unfair! Unfair! That thing kept you whole, kept you from giving me your shape!” The wood of the door scraped against her back as he lifted her. She kicked out at the shadowed image of herself.

 

“You will  _ never _ be me!” Nikki growled at the demon.

 

“Augh, we’ll start again. More pain this time. The Elder One still comes,” as Envy’s hand rose to her head once more, she saw a shadowed image of Corypheus standing behind them. She had the feeling that he was grinning at her. She sneered and suddenly Cole was there. 

 

“It’s frightened of you,” his words distracted the demon enough that when Nikki kicked out again he stumbled back and she was back in the real world and Bull was there. The Envy demon flew away from her in it's true form and screeched at them before running into the fortress.They watched as it dematerialized and flew past a sickly green barrier. The large group ran inside and they helped to regain control of the main hall before Nikki addressed them all.

 

“There are some officers on the battlements that are in need of help, I’ll go with Bull-”

 

“No,” Cullen and Bull spoke at the same time. Nikki rolled her eyes at them.

 

“Fine, Bull will stay with me while Cullen, Solas, and Sera get to the officers to the left. Cassandra, Vivienne, and Barris will get to the officer on the right. Then we’ll all meet back here and get through that barrier together, happy?” Nikki asked Bull sarcastically.

 

“Thrilled,” was all he said in response. It felt like forever and a day before they all returned with the officers in tow. They made the final push to the courtyard where the demon had set himself up in a corner. She could tell that Bull wasn’t happy about cornering the demon, no one fights harder than when they’re in a corner. Nikki sighed as she led the charge into the Courtyard proper. They walked into the eerily quiet courtyard and Nikki shuddered at the red lyrium that infested the very walls of the keep.

 

“I touched so much of you, but you are selfish with your glory. Now I’m no one,” the pale faceless form of the demon appeared before her and Cole came up behind her.

 

“Dark and desperate, death to make yourself alive. I used to be like you. I’m not anymore, you shouldn’t be either,” Cole tried to appeal to the demon.

 

“Lady Herald,” Cullen called out when it looked like the demon was about to attack. Cole grabbed her at the waist and she appeared next to Bull. She looked back to see the demon striking where she had once been. The demon immediately teleported elsewhere and the group moved to strategic positions. Nikki motioned for Bull to go fight the demon and Cole stayed with her. The battle seemed to rage forever and Nikki felt a familiar warmth spread in her belly as she watched Cullen and Bull fighting in tandem against the demon. Finally the demon fell and Nikki led the way away from the courtyard and was approached by Ser Barris. 

 

“The demon is dead, Andraste be praised, she shielded you from it’s touch.”

 

“Andraste had nothing to do with it,” Nikki muttered beneath her breath. 

 

“We’ve numbers across Thedas,” Ser Barris continued as if she hadn’t said a word. “But  _ we _ let this happen. Our officers either failed to see it or were complicit. The templars are ready to hear what the Inquisition needs of us.” 

 

Nikki pointed at the Breach in the distance, “ _ that _ is our enemy. So long as the Breach and those responsible exist the world is in danger. You’ll follow Cullen’s command once we return to Haven. At least then you’ll have someone to give orders while you choose new leaders.”

 

“You speak truths we never should have ignored. You have offered us more than we deserve after recent events.”

 

“If we lived in a world where people got what they deserved, then that means children  _ deserved _ to die in war,” Nikki spoke bitterly. Bull glanced at her to see tears beginning to form in her eyes. 

 

“Let’s move out,” Cullen called out, he had seen the tears in her eyes as well. 

 

They made their way through the fortress once more and Nikki was eager to get on the road back to Haven.That night at camp Nikki lay herself down in the tent that she had finally set up for herself and lay on top of her bedroll staring at the ceiling of her tent. She heard the tent flap open and Bull poked his head inside and waited for her to move before he entered the tent.

 

“Not bad, Asala,” he praised her.

 

“Yeah, I finally got the shit to work right,” she still had the bitter tone in her voice and he wondered about her ‘children dying in war’ comment earlier that day.

 

“Talk,” was all he said to her as he got ready for bed.

 

She looked at him and swallowed nervously, it wasn’t like she could fully explain what had happened that episode of NCIS that had driven home the children used in war part of the world. She took a moment and finally looked at him, he was so beautiful to her in that moment. He wasn’t even looking at her, he was giving her time to process and was waiting patiently without pushing her. Nikki felt such emotion for him in that moment that tears began welling in her eyes again. 

 

Suddenly everything was pouring out. Everything that had happened in her head with the Envy demon. How her brother was a soldier in the army back home and how he had been deployed across the ocean a few times and had actually had to deal with kids being used as weapons. How everything seemed so far beyond what she could possibly do. Pretty soon she was sobbing against him and he turned to hold her.

 

Cullen slowly poked his head through the tent flap and looked at Nikki curiously. While still sobbing into Bull’s chest she reached out and pulled Cullen through the tent flap. Cullen swallowed nervously as she forced his arms to wrap around her. He glanced at Bull who glanced back at him and nodded. Apparently she needed them both. 

 

“So, how much of that did you hear,” Nikki asked Cullen when she finally had calmed down enough to be understood. She remained wrapped in their arms as Cullen answered.

 

“Since the Lord Seeker grabbed at your face,” Cullen felt her shudder in his arms and both Cullen and Bull squeezed her gently and Cullen felt his face warm at his closeness to the other man. 

 

“So you heard everything,” Nikki mumbled into their arms.

 

“Pretty much, yeah.” Nikki turned in their arms and wiggled her arms around Cullen. Bull attempted to remove his arms from around her, but she whipped her hand out to pull his arms back around her. 

 

“I’m so sorry I pushed you away, Cullen. I- I still care for you,” she kissed his cheek and Cullen’s eyes darted to Bull to see curiosity in his gaze. “Can I just sleep between you two tonight? Please? I know it’s sudden, but-”

 

“So long as Bull’s okay with it. I’ll do whatever you need me to do,” it struck Cullen how true those words were. 

 

“Whatever you need, Asala,” Bull’s face held only curiosity and openness. 

 

“Thank you, both of you,” they took a moment to settle with Nikki between the two men and before long she was snoring away. 

 

“You still want to be with her,” Bull whispered to him across her body.

 

“She made her choice and is with you,” he whispered back.

 

“I told her that she had my full attention, I also told her that she and I were whatever she wanted it to be.” 

 

“So if she were to leave you and-”

 

“She won’t, but yes, if she were to  _ leave _ me I would let her go. Who’s to say though that she only has to love one of us,” Bull spoke bluntly.

 

Cullen remained silent, he didn’t know what to do with that. He turned his head to retort, what? It didn’t matter because the Iron Bull was already asleep and Cullen was left alone with his thoughts. The Chantry taught them that love was sacred between man and woman. The only thing was he had seen that Nikki held so much love that, now that he thought about it, it was kind of unfair to expect her to only love one person. Dare he hope that they could mend things and he could be with her again? Then that left The Iron Bull, would he be okay with that?  A memory crossed his mind when he was in templar training, a quiet night in an empty storage room. A quick coupling, and a kiss goodbye. He sighed and looked to the two bodies that lay next to him. What would his sister think of this?


End file.
